CevVas Cartel: When Family and Fighting a Cartel Mix
by Starsky88
Summary: DEA agents Leon and Ali Kemal discover that their father runs the most powerful drug cartel with Cevdet. The brothers are sent to take down their father, and Hilal comes along because there's no way she's letting her husband face this on his own. What starts as a simple mission becomes a family war to bring down one dangerous man. Basically a narcos crossover with vatanim sensin.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning Part 1

This is my cross-over fiction of vatanim sensin and the narcos history/tv show. Finally, after two months of plotting here's the first part of the story. I hope you guys enjoy this! Basically, this is the vatanim sensin characters with the narcos history and plot combined in my head and made into this story!

A big thank you to burningdesireforchocolate on tumblr for helping me first come up with the idea and helping me plot it out, a big thank you to byroncarter on tumblr for helping me through the story and editing, and a thank you to Faragora on twitter for being my third beta on this story. I needed a lot of help and motivation on this story but you three made it easier and made it so much fun.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the VS characters or narcos characters. These are characters based loosely on history so I any similarities are due to that.

All right if you've read this far, here's a bit of background. Leon and Ali Kemal grew up in the states after their mother and Azize left Vasili and Cevdet. Years later the brothers learn that Vasili and Cevdet head the CevVas cartel and so they take it upon themselves to take their father down. Hilal comes along because she's not leaving her husband alone on his mission. They enter a world that's complicated by the fact that many fear Vasili and few are brave enough to stand up to him. This will be a journey that will test their wills and their hearts.

 _Chapter 1: The Beginning_

 _Part 1_

 _Imagine a single man so powerful he could pay your country's debt and still have more cash left over than most legitimate businesses. Imagine a man who could buy out half the police and scare the other half. Imagine him building homes for the poor in one city just as he murdered in the hundreds in another. Imagine a man who destroyed lives every second he breathed, who craved not just money but power and recognition. Who even aspired to be the president of his home country, even as he was poisoning his home country. Imagine a man so formidable he could dictate terms to the country he held hostage. Imagine a man who would take every bit of manpower from several countries to finally put down; imagine a man who would go to war with his own government and his own people just to survive._

 _Imagine if that man was your father._

 _But I'm getting ahead of myself, this story begins about fifteen years ago in Chicago._

 _My brother and I were brought to the states when we were toddlers, our mother brought us to escape our past in Greece. More specifically, she wanted to escape the madman that was our father. More on that later. Her closest friend, Azize and her two daughters followed us, we weren't the only ones wanting to escape from our father and his friends. We landed in Chicago and lived an unassuming life, trying desperately to live a normal life away from the poisonous environment. But you can never escape your past, and sometimes you have a responsibility to face it._

Chicago 2007

Leon was flipping through his textbook sighing as he reminded himself that he just needed to study for a few more days for his advanced placement exams and then he would be free for the summer. He would finally graduate high school and relax a bit before college. Of course, that would include job hunting and finally deciding on what he wanted to study in college. He raked a hand through his hair and breathed.

He heard a door open and glanced up to see his older brother walk in through the door, "Hey."

Ali Kemal, "Hey, how was your day?"

Leon groaned.

"That bad," Ali Kemal said as he sat next to Leon.

Leon shut the book and turned to face his brother, "That bad. Was your day better than mine?"

His brother nodded, "Had an interesting day for sure, my adviser met with me today and told me that I would be a good fit for law enforcement, saying the qualities he saw in me and my interests seem to point towards a career like that. Said he could get me into an internship with the DEA."

Leon raised an eyebrow, "Didn't know you were interested in law enforcement."

Ali Kemal shrugged, "I may have asked my adviser about some criminal law classes next year, but he said some pretty interesting things that made me want to join DEA."

"Not sure our mother would approve," Leon remarked.

Their mother was notorious for being overly protective of the both, making sure to check on them at least twice a day and insisting on the two of them remaining in Chicago. She reasoned that the city had several universities so there was no reason for them venture far away from her. She had been this way from since they were young, always fearful that something may happen to her two boys. Leon and Ali Kemal had always assumed it had something to do with their father back in Greece, that the man had been abusive or scared their mother enough to make her run across the world. They wondered what made their mother so fearful that their father would turn up someday, and both had tried to remember anything relating to their father to understand. But all they could remember was a smiling man who loved to bring toys and jewelry for their mother. When they were younger they tried asking their mother about their father, only for her to become agitated and order them to never ask about him again.

Eventually, they stopped asking.

Their mother had only grown more anxious as they grew, as if the more and more Leon and Ali Kemal became independent meant they were being put further into danger.

And while Leon humored her on occasion, his older brother constantly resisted her smothering. Ali Kemal wasn't about to let anyone restrict him, and he and his mother had always fought each other whenever Veronica tried to restrict him. They had a long row over where Ali Kemal would go to college, it was only after Leon had practically begged his brother to stay, saying he didn't think their mother could take it if one of them left. Leon had brought up their father, saying clearly something about their mother's past was enough to make her fearful and they couldn't leave her alone if she was afraid like this. Ali Kemal had finally seemed to agree but made Leon promise that one day they would sit their mother down and demand answers.

 _"We can't live like this forever, brother," he had said gruffly._

"Well, I don't need her approval to pick a career," Ali Kemal said stubbornly.

Leon rolled his eyes, "Please don't start that now."

Ali Kemal frowned before he leaned back, "Fine, I'd much rather talk about Hilal."

Leon's eyes narrowed, "What about Hilal?"

His brother smirked, "When are you going to tell her you're madly in love with her and write romantic letters to her that you hide under your bed?"

His younger brother glowered at him.

"So, you haven't told her?" Ali Kemal mused, "Leon, if you keep waiting she's going to fall for some tall, dark and handsome. He'll probably be broody and mysterious too."

"Shut up," Leon snapped but his eyes looked unsure, "Do you think that's her type?"

Ali Kemal shrugged, "I don't know, but you can't keep waiting, Leon. Hilal might not wait forever."

Leon sighed, "I know that, but I don't think she feels the same."

"You don't know that for sure," his brother reasoned.

"I'm pretty sure I do," his brother said defeatedly.

"Then move on with your life, Leon. Find someone better," Ali Kemal offered wisely.

Leon's eyebrows shot up and he sputtered incredulously, "Someone better? She's the most beautiful woman in the world. She's kind and loyal, and God do I love her determination. No one is as smart or as stubborn as her and she makes me so angry sometimes, and I love her more for how she riles me up. She's perfect."

Ali Kemal rolled his eyes, "Then why don't you just tell her all that? So I don't have to keep hearing it."

Leon shot him a glare but he was cut off by Yildiz running, her hair wild and her makeup messed up. Her eyes were wild and she had clearly been crying.

With Yildiz and her mother and sister living next door, and with their close relationship with the brothers, both sisters had a key to their house so they could let themselves in.

"Yildiz!" Leon jumped up as Ali Kemal ran over to her.

They circled as she blubbered on incoherently, shaking.

Finally, Leon placed his arms on her shoulders and she froze, "Yildiz, it's going to be okay. I'm sure whatever it is it will be fine. Just tell me what happened?"

He was gentle but firm as he softly told her to calm down and tell them what had happened. Slowly, Yildiz was calming down and visibly relaxing.

Ali Kemal had to hand it to Leon, he knew how to handle people better.

Leon looked her in the eyes, "We're here, Yildiz, okay?"

Yildiz nodded and finally her breathing slowed, "It was awful, Leon."

Leon looked worried now, but he tried not to let his panic show, "Has something happened to Hilal?"

Yildiz shook her head and Leon visibly relaxed, "No, thank God no."

"It's Eleni," Yildiz spit out and her eyes found Ali Kemal who felt his world drop.

"What?" he croaked, "Yildiz, is she okay? Where is she?"

"Ali Kemal, let her answer," Leon ordered.

But Yildiz was looked bewildered at Ali Kemal, "She's in the hospital, we went out clubbing and I lost her for a moment, and when I finally found her she was unconscious in the club bathroom."

"Where is she now, Yildiz?" Ali Kemal demanded letting his anger get the better of him, "What the hell happened to my girlfriend? Where did you leave her in your carelessness?"  
"Ali Kemal!" Leon reprimanded but Yildiz ignored him.

She stared straight at Ali Kemal, "Did you know that your girlfriend had a dealer who was giving her cocaine? Did you know why she visited that club? You are always quick to think the worst of me, but it wasn't me who put her in this position."

Ali Kemal couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Shut up, Yildiz!"

"No! You're not the only one who cares about her!" she spat, "That son of a bitch ex- boyfriend of hers got her hooked on it and now she's lying in a hospital bed fighting for her life while that low-life is walking the streets free! He's probably delivering his poison to a couple more victims as we speak! And all you can think of is how to blame me for this?"

"I'll kill him with my bare hands," Ali Kemal growled but Yildiz shook her head violently.

She shoved Leon away, "She's at the hospital near Greektown, mom is there with her. You should go visit her. You'll just get yourself in trouble if you try to catch that jerk."

Leon cut in, "She's right, Eleni needs you. Leave that asshole to the authorities."

Ali Kemal nodded quickly before running out of the room.

Yildiz watched him leave silently, as Leon took her hand, "He was just angry, he didn't mean his words."  
Yildiz looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. But anger burned through her tears, and Leon could practically feel the heat radiating off her.

"I have to go," she murmured as she pulled away and left.

 _Eleni survived the night, to everyone's relief. As her doctor, Azize reported that she would live. The experience would touch everyone's life; this was a turning point for all of us. Ali Kemal would join the DEA training program, and when our Mother protested, he told her he couldn't stand by and let others go through what Eleni did. That if he could make sure that even one youth didn't lose their life to drugs that he was making a difference. I backed him up and our mother was outmatched. She could only shake her head and mutter worriedly softly to herself._

 _I would join him a year later. I thought of it as doing my duty, to serve my country by saving people from Eleni's fate._

 _Hilal decided to become an emergency room nurse, saying this was her way to save people._

 _Yildiz's reaction was surprising. She hadn't visited Eleni in the hospital, and spent most of the week afterwards leaving the house with a sketchbook and a stack of books. She wouldn't return until late at night, and this went on for a full week._

The day after Eleni was discharged from the hospital, Azize invited Veronica and her sons over for a welcome home brunch. Ali Kemal brought Eleni over just as Hilal and Leon were setting the table.

Eleni smiled weakly at everyone, still pale and ill from the effects of the overdose, "You really didn't have to go through all this trouble."

Ali Kemal smiled at her gently and kissed her on the forehead, "Nonsense."

"You're practically family," Hilal said kindly as Leon nodded in agreement.

"And it's no trouble at all, Eleni," Azize said firmly.

Veronica entered the room just then, but paused as she caught sight of Eleni. She handed a dish of food to Leon before turning back to study Eleni with a sad look in her eyes, almost looking guilty. Azize seemed to notice and placed a hand on the other woman's shoulder, but Veronica shook her head at her wordless question. Leon briefly wondered if Eleni was reminding her of something, perhaps connected to her past.

Veronica suddenly moved forward and hugged Eleni tightly, "We're so glad you're okay, sweetheart."

Eleni returned the hug, "I'm so lucky to be alive, Miss Veronica."

"We're all blessed to still have you in our lives," Azize said gently, "And we'll be here for you, no matter what happens from here on out, you'll have all of us to support you."

Eleni wiped her eyes, "Thank you, it feels good to know I won't have to face this alone."

Just then Yildiz rushed down the stairs. She barely glanced at anyone as she grabbed her keys and sketchbook. The entire party just stared at her for a moment wondering what was going on with her. Surely, she couldn't be this careless of her friend's condition, not after practically suffering a break down during the whole ordeal with Eleni's overdose.

A few seconds passed and Yildiz had yet to acknowledge anyone in the room.

"Yildiz, where were you? We were preparing things for Eleni," Azize finally asked displeased.

But Yildiz still wasn't paying attention, she stuffed her sketchbook into her bag before finally saying, "I have to go."  
"Go?" Azize echoed in disbelief, not believing what she was hearing from her eldest.

Hilal finally cut in, "Eleni just got here, Yildiz, don't you think you should be welcoming your friend back?"

Hilal was looking at her sister in derision and was about to take a step forward if not for Leon pulling her gently back muttering a quiet warning.

She shoved him off angrily, "What? She's being rude and selfish!"

Leon sighed.

"It's fine, really," Eleni said softly.

It was at that moment that Yildiz finally looked up and locked eyes with Eleni, "I'm glad you're okay, but I really need to do this. You'll understand why someday."

"What? Pursuing your fashion degree?" Hilal spit out.

"Hilal," Leon hissed.

Yildiz turned to her sister and promised, "I'm going to do important things, Hilal."

And with that, Yildiz ran out.

 _Yildiz left the next week on a scholarship to an art school in Virginia. For the next five years, she barely came home._


	2. Chapter 1: The Beginning Part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the VS characters or narcos characters. These are characters based loosely on history so I any similarities are due to that.

 _Chapter 1: The Beginning_

 _Part 2_

 _In the meantime, Ali Kemal and I graduated from college and did our training stint at Quantico in Virginia. We returned to Chicago and started work as DEA agents. We were stationed locally, mostly doing small time cocaine busts. In my earliest conquests, I got a ten-kilo bust and the guys and I went out to celebrate at a local bar. I was the youngest of the four, so of course they decided to mess with me. Didn't expect Ali Kemal to let them sink so low though._

Chicago 2012

Leon laughed as he sat back down to his two DEA friends and his brother. He clinked his glass against theirs as one of them proclaimed, "To Leon's promotion!"

His superior took a drink, "I see a bright future for you, kid."  
Ali Kemal raised his glasses, "Hear, hear!"

Leon smiled proudly as he drank from his glass. His brother gave him a proud smile before he started to regal them with a story of his own big bust from this week. They talked and laughed for a few minutes before the story ended leaving them in a comfortable silence.

Finally, Leon's superior and his partner shared a look before glancing at Leon with smirks. Ali Kemal smiled into his glass.

Leon returned their stares with a raised eyebrow, "What's going on, guys?"

One of them leaned forward and said slyly, "That girl has been checking you out the whole night."

Leon rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Right."

"No, she has! She hasn't taken her eyes off you all night, man," his other friend promised.

Leon shrugged as he leaned back to finish off his drink, "Fine, but I'm not interested."

Ali Kemal smirked, "I wouldn't be so hasty, bro. She's your type, dirty blonde hair and pretty blue eyes."

He glared at his brother, having made it clear that he wasn't interested in dating anyone, but Ali Kemal ignored his glare and said, "Seriously, she's your type, look."

Leon sighed dramatically and turned around and felt his eyes widen.

There was Hilal chatting up with one of her friends from college, laughing at something the other girl was saying. She was resting her chin on her raised hand as her hair fell around her face and her eyes twinkled with mirth.

She looked beautiful.

Leon grabbed at his collar in an effort to loosen it, feeling like he couldn't breathe properly. She was the only one who could get him so flustered, he'd sooner face a trafficker with a gun than to have to face Hilal sometimes. And yet he craved time with her, didn't care if she dismissed him or fought with him. He loved being around her. He couldn't help it, even after all this time he still had feelings for Hilal. It didn't matter that they didn't see each other much since the two of them started college and that they saw each other even less since they started their respective careers; each time he could steal a chance to see her was a cherished one.

It didn't even matter that Hilal didn't feel the same for him.

That was a lie.

He turned back to the others and asked almost desperately, "She was checking me out? Me?"

The other two men tried to reassure him, but Leon wasn't asking them.

Leon directed the question to his brother, who studied him for a moment before nodding, "She's interested, bro."

Leon glanced hopefully back at her, telling himself it wouldn't hurt to try. Maybe Ali Kemal was right, maybe he should put his feelings out there and if she didn't feel the same at least he would finally have an answer. And if Ali Kemal was right, she might feel the same.

He looked over at Hilal one more time before turning to his friends, "All right, I'm giving it a go."

They smiled and cheered as he stood up and made his way to Hilal.

He came up beside her and tried for a cocky smile, "Hey."

She stopped talking to glance back at him with a smirk, "Hey, you're not going to get too drunk, are you?"

Leon ignored her to ask playfully, "Heard you were checking me out the whole night."

Hilal's smiled disappeared as she looked down and said quietly, "Don't flatter yourself, Leon."

Leon felt his heart break a bit and his shoulders slumped. Well, he had his answer now and it felt a million times worse than not knowing. Rejection from the woman he had loved for the past seven years hurt far more than pining after her.

He was going to kill his brother, and then his friends.

In the mess of his emotions he missed the way Hilal's eyes glanced up to study him, how her eyes widened a bit and her mouth dropped open as if she had realized something.

"Sorry, for bothering you, Hilal," he murmured as he turned to leave.

"Leon," she called softly.

He stopped and turned around suddenly, "Those guys were messing with me, can you at least write down your number on a paper so I can show them up? If I go back there I'm going to be ridiculed the whole night, and I could really live without that tonight."

Hilal glanced back at the guys laughing at his expense and she glanced back at the bartender, "Do you have a pen, I got some assholes to shut up."

"Thanks," he said gratefully.

She smiled up at him and handed him the page, "See you at dinner at mom's place tomorrow."

He felt his heart clench, but he nodded and grabbed the paper before saying, "Drive safely."

"Don't worry, Mr. police officer," Hilal reassured him playfully.

"I'm DEA, Hilal," he reminded her but she waved him off.

"I can hear their obnoxious laughing from here, shut it down," she ordered.

Leon nodded dutifully before strutting back to his friends and forcing himself to give a broad smile while he felt his heart break, "I got her number."

They sputtered, "No way!"  
"Read it," he shoved the paper in their faces.

"That's your handwriting!" one of them protested.

"You know that's not true," he countered as he shared a glance with his brother.

Ali Kemal smiled at him but Leon mouthed, "You're dead."

His brother's smile dropped quickly.

That night, Leon was about to get ready for bed as he heard his brother, "Look, Leon, I'm sorry. I really thought she had feelings for you. I really wasn't trying to mess you, I was just trying to get you to make a move. It's been seven years, Leon, at least now you have an answer and can move on with your life."

"I'm tired," Leon repeated firmly from behind his bedroom door, "I have a long day tomorrow."

He heard his brother sigh from behind the door before stepping away.

He sat down with a sigh and grabbed the paper with Hilal's number. Funnily, she had given him her real number, he'd thought she would just scribble a couple of random numbers down. He'd already had her number, memorized it even. He sat there studying the familiar handwriting tracing the letters as he sighed sadly. Finally, he flipped over the paper on his nightstand, not wanting to be reminded of Hilal anymore.

It was time to move on

That was when he noticed some extra writing on the back. He grabbed it and read the words.

 _You're a DEA Agent, Leon. Maybe you should know when people are lying to you._

 _I'm quite partial to DEA Agents with brown hair and hazel eyes._

Leon grabbed the phone and dialed.

 _And just like that I was completely and irrevocably hers._

 _I proposed to her six months later. Truth is, I probably would have proposed after that first date but Ali Kemal wouldn't let me near a jewelry store that entire week. Hey, when you know, you just know. When I finally did ask her to marry me, she interrupted me to ask me what taken me so long._

Leon had this all planned, had taken Hilal to her favorite spot in the downtown botanic gardens. He had brought her favorite book to read to each other and had planned this beautiful picnic. He had made all her favorite foods and had even ordered sweets from the patisserie Hilal loved visiting. He had really gone all out to make this the most romantic proposal, even had to promise Ali Kemal tickets to the Blackhawks game to make sure that no one in the office would call on him. Everything had gone according to plan, like out of a book. They had just finished the cake when he stood up and pulled Hilal up with him. She smiled up at him curiously as he reached into his pocket.

Hilal gasped as he got down on one knee.

But leave it to Hilal to interrupt a perfect proposal from her impatience.

She didn't even let him speak she just tackled him to the ground and he felt his head hit grass and swore that he was probably going to wake up with a bruised back tomorrow morning.

He let out a groan.

Hilal's eyes widened and she moved off him, "I'm so sorry, Leon. But, I've been in love with you for the last six years. I've been ready to say yes for quite some time, love."

He couldn't help his silly grin, "Really?"  
She shyly pulled on her hair and nodded before leaning down to kiss him. Only for her lips to hit his palm. She pulled away surprised.

He gave her a mock glare, "Well, I've been in love with you for seven years. And I've been planning this moment for the past seven years so you do not get to ruin my moment."

Hilal rolled her eyes, "Leon."  
"Hilal, I'm being serious," he pouted, "Is this really the romantic proposal that we'll want to tell our children? That mommy cut daddy off and wouldn't let him finish his question because she's so impatient."

"Children? You haven't been imagining those too?" she asked him sternly.

"That's for me to know," he responded quickly as he sat up and started to pat the grass off his clothes, "But if you must know, we have two girls and one boy."

Hilal raised an eyebrow but before she could say anything he cut in.

"Now, let's try this again," he said as stood up and held out his hand.

She sighed but took his hand, "You're being ridiculous."

"Humor me," he ordered.

He pulled her up and then picked up the ring that had luckily stayed in its box during the fall. Then he made a great show of getting down on one knee and looking up lovingly to Hilal who was trying hard to be serious but failing epically with giggles.

"Hilal, be serious," he practically whined.

She rolled her eyes, "Ever the romantic, fine."

He gave her one last glare before making a big show of opening the box.

Hilal comically brought her hands over her mouth and gasped.

He raised an eyebrow but she shrugged, "I'm humoring you."

"You're overdoing it, Hilal," he pointed out.

"No, I'm not," she protested annoyed.

Leon decided to drop it, knowing full well that they could go on for hours when they were on a roll.

"Hilal, we've grown up together, I've seen you at your best and your worst. You're stubborn, impatient, quick to anger. But you're also kind, brave, and have the most beautiful mind in the world. You're perfect, Hilal. There's no one in the world who knows me better, and no one that I want to share my life with more. There's isn't a minute in the day where I'm not thinking about being with you. When I crack some case, or make some bust, all I want to do is run and tell you about it. And my favorite part of the day is when you tell me about your day. I already know the answer to this, but for the sake of my whole planned evening to go perfectly, tell me again," he said with a smile.

She smiled tearfully at him but didn't interrupt him.

"Will you marry me, Hilal?" he asked softly.

"Yes," she said breathlessly sticking out her hand.

He slipped the ring on her finger and stood up cradling her hand in his. He gazed down at her lovingly as she gave him the brightest smile in return.

"Now can I kiss you?" she asked softly.

Leon nodded before he leaned down to kiss her tenderly, wrapping his arms around her.

They broke apart and Leon leaned his forehead against hers. They stood there for a moment.

"Is that a good enough story for you?" she murmured.

"The best," he replied.

 _We were married eight months later._

 _It was the happiest day of our lives, but one thing marred it. Hilal couldn't quite stand that Yildiz couldn't bother to stay for the wedding. Her sister further turned heads when she announced she was going back home to Greece, ignoring both her mother and mine's warnings. Yildiz shrugged them off and said, "It's where I belong."_

 _She was gone the next morning._


	3. Chapter 1: The Beginning Part 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the VS characters or narcos characters. These are characters based loosely on history so I any similarities are due to that.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Part 3

 _Hilal and I settled in our own place in the city, settling into our new lives._

 _Hilal worked as a nurse in the nearby hospital, and I worked my cases around the city. Work was hard, and sometimes the nights were tough, but life was good._

 _Until as time progressed, the cases were rougher and longer. We were facing drug dealers with even more advanced weapons than what we were used to or prepared for. The drug dealers weren't young teens with pistols anymore, they were young teens and adults with semi-automatic weapons that were aimed to kill and did kill. Nearly a hundred people were killed from cartel violence in a period of three years. Nearly two hundred people overdosed in that same period. Soon it became routine to face shootouts over a couple hundred kilos of cocaine, and it became more dangerous when we went out to make a bust. We were putting our lives at risk every day, and already we'd lost five DEA agents in the past year. Ali Kemal's partner was killed when an informant betrayed her. I'd seen some horrific things, watching innocent people caught in the crossfire and watching what the fear and terror was doing to the neighborhoods especially affected._

 _I was starting to feel helpless, I was starting to doubt that I was even making a difference here._

 _It got harder every night to come home to Hilal after seeing the things I had to see. I couldn't take bringing home disappointment and regret home to her. And it was about to get worse._

Chicago 2016

Leon opened the door and walked over to Hilal tiredly, leaning down to give her a quick kiss as she looked up at him with a frustrated expression. He frowned down at her in concern, bringing his hand to cradle her cheek and she leaned into his palm and sighed. Wordlessly, she grabbed his other hand and pulled him to sit beside her and leaned her head against his. He closed his eyes and buried his face in her hair and breathed her familiar scent in. She kissed his shoulder as she entwined her hand in his.

They stayed like that until she sat up to face him and asked, "That bad?"

"Another Greektown cocaine bust, this time with a bunch of teens shooting at us with machine guns," he said tiredly looking down at his hands, "When we returned fire I ended up hitting one in the chest and killing him. He was just a kid, Hilal."

Hilal was silent for a moment, "Good."

Leon's eyes snapped to his wife, "Hilal! What are you saying?"

She stood up and turned away from him, "He deserved to die."

Leon studied her silently before standing and approaching her. He wrapped his arms around her middle and felt the tension in her body. She leaned back into his chest and eased.

She let out a pained sigh as he asked, "What happened?"

She turned around and buried her face in his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her to hold her close.

"A sixteen-year old girl overdosed and died in the ER today," she said shakily, "Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, we got a pregnant woman who had overdosed from cocaine."

Hilal breathed shakily as he kissed the top of her head, "She died an hour later, we tried to save the baby but we couldn't. That little baby boy died in my arms, Leon."

She was shaking now, and Leon pulled away to cradle her face in his hands, "Hilal, you did what you could."

She nodded slowly, "I keep telling myself that. But Leon, she was found in Greektown and they found out she had swallowed packets of cocaine. She was one of those, what did you tell me they call them? Cocaine mules? The poor girl had swallowed twenty packets of cocaine. God, she was carrying 120 grams of cocaine, Leon. Two of the packets had burst and got into her bloodstream, overdosing her immediately. She had twelve grams of cocaine enter her blood directly sending her heart into cardiac arrest, she stood no chance once even one of those packets burst. We were never going to be able to save her."

Leon breathed sharply and held her tighter.

"I feel so helpless, Leon," she said tiredly, "Like whatever I do isn't making a difference."

He felt his heart break, because he never thought he'd see his strong stubborn Hilal feel like he did, like a failure. She never gave up, and damn anyone who stood in the way of her goals. It made him feel like he had failed his wife, she had been his rock and support when things got tough and here he was with no answer for her own struggle.

"Why does this keep happening?" Hilal sobbed into his chest.

Leon brought her closer and felt his own eyes water, "I don't know."

 _The cocaine business had moved from the typical cartel locations to Greektown, every week there were drug traffickers caught or gunned down. And it wasn't just the police fighting these new drug traffickers, gang violence in the area was on a high. Murder rates were skyrocketing, and bodies were piling up like never before in Chicago. Not even Al Capone could claim to have brought the kind of violence we were seeing. And it seemed like there was no stopping it. And every day, there were reported deaths from overdoses, with cocaine not from Mexico, but cocaine from Greek traffickers and with Greek connections. It was becoming increasingly clear that we weren't even making a dent in our work. If we managed to confiscate ten kilos of cocaine in a day, they were smuggling in 1 ton of cocaine a day. They were toying with us, letting us find the obvious cache of cocaine while smuggling the real loads in. It was frustrating because we knew we were being played and we couldn't do a damn thing about it. Ali Kemal and I were just about banging our heads against the walls, begging our superiors that we needed to do more._

 _Finally, someone listened._

 _We were called to the office of the head of the DEA in Chicago, Agent Fatma, a formidable woman who had dealt with the worst cartels in Chicago for the past 15 years. There were even rumors she had done about four years of undercover work in Colombia during the second Search bloc era. Other rumors said she had been instrumental in capturing key Sinaloa cartel leaders in Mexico. There were other rumors too, some too unbelievable to even mention here. Whatever the truth was, this was the universally accepted truth among our fellow DEA agents, Special Agent Fatma was a certified badass._

 _She brought us in and explained that she herself had seen the beginnings of this cartel but for years they had been a minor problem, her superiors had told her to focus on the Sinaloa cartel trafficking activities. But as the Sinaloa cartel was falling with the capture of El Chapo and his associates, a new cartel had arisen to take their place of power. And it was becoming clear that this new player in town wasn't going away and they were more powerful than ever._

"After we looked further into it, we've found that this cartel is a sophisticated and complex organization that has infiltrated and dominated the cocaine business in the past five years from their base in Thessaloniki in Greece," she explained.

That peaked both of their interests, the brothers were born in Thessaloniki.

Agent Fatma eyed them, "You're probably wondering why I brought you brought you in today. Well, brace yourselves, you might not like what you're about to find out. But it's important that you know, because we are going to need you both for this case."

She opened a drawer and grabbed a folder. She tossed it front of Leon who peered down before glancing up.

"What do you know about CevVas cartel?" Agent Fatma asked seriously.

 _Not liking what we heard that day was the understatement of the century._

Leon stumbled home, nearly falling twice as he walked up the stairs to their small house in the inner suburbs. He grabbed onto the railings to steady himself before heaving into the flowerbed under the windows of their home. Hilal was going to kill him for ruining her favorite rose bush he had planted for her birthday. He took a shaky breath as his hair fell before his eyes and he leaned his forehead against the railing. He breathed deeply, gripping the railing feeling like he could collapse at any moment.

The door opened, and he immediately felt a familiar presence support him.

"Where have you been? Your brother called and said you left him at his place nearly two hours ago?" Hilal asked worriedly, "Leon, you smell like alcohol, how much have you had?"

Leon didn't respond only leaned over and heaved again. He felt Hilal's cool hands stroking his hair as she leaned into his side to support his weight.

"You should have called me and let me know so I could have picked you up, or at least keep an eye on your intake tonight," she reprimanded, "You know better than to drink alone, you promised me you wouldn't go off on a bender when you're upset or frustrated. You know there are more positive ways to deal when it gets tough, you don't see me getting drunk when I have a hard day at work…"

She was interrupted when Leon threw up again on her roses.

Hilal sighed, "Well, you'll have to buy me new roses now. Come in."  
He managed a nod before feeling dizzy again and turning green.

His wife shot him another disapproving look, but Leon's hair shielded his eyes from the worst of Hilal's ire. She huffed as she positioned herself under his arm and guided him with surprising gentleness considering her irritation at his stupidity. She expertly helped him through the house with Leon feeling sturdy on his feet with her help. She may have been a foot shorter than him, but her small frame hid a stubborn strength that manifested itself in physical strength.

Once they were inside, she led him to their couch near the kitchen. Leon sat down and leaned his head against the cushions and closed his eyes.

"What could possibly possess you to be so stupid and drink yourself into a stupor?" Hilal demanded as she rummaged through the kitchen.

"Hilal," he moaned, "Do we really need to do this right now?"

"Yes, we do," Hilal responded sternly, "Open your eyes."

Leon slowly opened his eyes to see a cup of water in his face. He took the glass as he eyed his wife with a frown. She glared at him before shoving two aspirin pills into his hand. He swallowed them quickly and finished off the glass before handing it to his wife. She placed the glass on the coffee table before taking a seat on the armchair across him and crossing her legs.

She looked at him expectantly, "Well, what have you to say for your idiotic behavior."

He looked back at her stubbornly, "I'd rather not say."

Hilal frowned and leaned forward, "Leon, tell me the truth. Your eyes are red so you've clearly been crying and you never let yourself get this wasted alone. Did another kid die in a shootout? Did you lose another DEA agent?"

He looked down and shook his head.

She was worried now, "Leon, please tell me what's wrong. Don't shut me out, my love."

Hilal reached across the coffee table to take his hand in hers, "Please."

He looked up at her, his eyes full of despair, "This burden should be mine alone."

"I know your brother knows, I could sense his anger through the phone," she pointed out, "but apparently, I can't be trusted? No, it's not that you don't trust me, it's that you want to protect me. So l'm to be sheltered? I know I've made it quite clear, husband, that you do not get to shelter me from the dangers of your job. Or did you forget the time I locked you out of the house for a full day because you decided not to tell me that your brother lost his partner in a shootout?"

"Hilal, stop being so damn stubborn," he whined as he covered his eyes with his free hand, "I'm not better off for knowing what I know."

But his darling Hilal wasn't about to let this go, "I'm your wife, we promised to share everything. I don't keep secrets from you."

He sighed and brought her hand up to his lips to kiss, "Hilal, just this once, let me deal with this myself."

She pulled her hand away to grab his chin, forcing him to face her gaze. Her eyes were hard and determined.

"If you don't tell me, I'm going to assume the worst," she warned.

Leon raised an eyebrow, "Trust me, I don't think there's anything worse than this Hilal."

Hilal held his gaze, "Try me."

He pulled away and leaned back as he ran a hand through his hair as he breathed out.

After a moment, he faced Hilal.

"Our supervisor called us into her office," he began, "She told us that all the cocaine trafficking around Greektown, all the shootings, all the deaths had been tracked down to one name. They're a new cartel but they've taken over the cocaine business as the Sinaloa cartel was being brought down. They've traced them to sources in Greece, specifically Thessaloniki."

Hilal raised an eyebrow curiously but didn't say anything.

He stopped and took a deep breath, "They've been able to find a couple names as well, and they're well respected members of Greek society, practically billionaires."

Hilal snorted, "Respectable drug dealers."

Leon simply said, "They're quite powerful, rumors are that they've bought off politicians and police to make sure their business isn't hindered."

His wife looked disgusted, "The very people who should be protecting their country are lining their pockets with drug money."

"Hilal, if you want to know so badly, stop interrupting me," he laughed bitterly.

She pursed her lips and nodded.

"Agent Fatma gave us the names and photos of the people in charge of and connected to this Greek cartel," he forced out as he reached into his jacket to pull out a small stack of papers and threw them on the table between them.

His wife moved closer and glanced down at the papers.

Leon grabbed her wrist gently to stop her causing her to glance up at him.

"Hilal, all our sources are telling us that the man behind all of this, all of the drugs and deaths is," he choked the words out, "My father."

His wife gasped and brought a hand to her mouth before glancing down.

He reached into the papers to pull out a photo of his father, he hadn't seen the man in over twenty years but one of the few memories he had held onto from his life in Greece had been this one memory of his father laughing and smiling as he surprised his family with gifts. Leon could never forget the easy smile of his father, the love and kindness in the man's eyes as he gazed at his wife and children. He had gazed at them as if they were the most precious possession he had.

Had that been the case? Had this twisted monster, and he was a monster if even half of the things Leon had read about Vasili was true could attest to, really cared for his family? Could a man who had no problem using pregnant women as cocaine mules, who didn't care that he was selling poison by the kilo, who didn't care who died to make sure he made his money, really find it in himself to love or care about someone?

Leon wasn't sure he even wanted the answer to that, all he knew was that he felt like his whole world was destroyed. He'd always suspected that perhaps his father wasn't this beacon of goodness, but he never expected this, never expected that his father was responsible for so much harm.

All Leon could think of was one thing.

He was the son of a monster.

Leon felt ill.

Hilal was studying him, as if waiting for him to say something.

Leon sighed and held both of her hands in his, "There's more, Hilal."

He stroked her fingers as he said quietly, "The official underground name of the cartel is the CevVas cartel, Vas for Vasili and Cev for Cevdet."

Hilal's snatched her hands away and stood up, "No, it can't be true. He's dead, he's been dead since we were little, it's why we followed your mother here."

She was shaking her head frantically, "No, Leon, it can't be true."

His heart broke for her, her mother had told Hilal and her sister that their father had died in suspicious circumstances. Azize had explained that their father's death was why they had moved to the United States, to keep them safe. It was more of an explanation than Veronica had given Leon and Ali Kemal, and it had allowed the sisters to think fondly of their father Leon now realized. Perhaps Azize hoped Cevdet dead too.

He grabbed a paper and held it out, "More than anything I wish I was wrong, my darling Hilal. I'm so sorry."

Hilal grabbed the paper and swallowed a sob as she traced the letters beneath the photo of a man, and there was no doubt in her mind that her husband was telling the truth.

"He's Vasili's second in command, many believe the brains behind the operation," Leon explained as he watch Hilal process all this.

She dropped the paper on the table and ran her hands through her hair, pacing around the room.

"There's more," Leon ground out.

Hilal turned towards him with angry tears, "What else? Spit it out, Leon."  
He pulled another photo and showed her, "Yildiz has been living with your father for the past four years. She's basically known in Greece as the richest heiress, practically treated like a princess there."

Yildiz was smirking the photo, dressed in the finest clothes money could buy with a sizable emerald pendant hanging from her neck and her wrists and fingers dripping in gold and diamonds.

Hilal looked sick, "She can't be this foolish? This careless?"  
"We have intel from the Greek police that would have us believe that Yildiz is quite aware of everything, we suspect she may be involved," he explained.

His wife looked as overwhelmed as he still did. He tried to reach for her but she swatted him away and walked silently to the kitchen.

He mentally cursed himself, he should have left the part about her father and Yildiz. But he knew that Hilal would have found out eventually, her father alone was richer than El Chapo. When he fell, and he would, the world's eyes would be on Greece and the CevVas cartel. Hilal would know then and she would never forgive him for keeping something so important from her.

Hilal returned with a bottle of the vodka his DEA partner had gotten him for his birthday and a glass. She sat down and filled the glass, all while Leon eyed her curiously.

She held up the glass and asked him, "Just so we're clear, our fathers oversee the largest cocaine cartel in the world, they're billionaires making money off the very poison that is killing people in the hundreds in this city alone, and they control the authorities and government in Greece. Anything I didn't understand?"

He shook his head.

Hilal leaned her head back and finished off the glass, before grimacing at the taste.

Leon would normally have laughed at his wife, knowing that she wasn't much of a drinker. But all he could do was study her quietly.

Hilal shook her head before filling another glass, "Where do we go from here?"

He leaned back, "They're sending Ali Kemal next month to start gathering evidence against the cartel, and I've been assigned to join DEA operations within the next year. I will leave for Athens probably after some preparation, Ali Kemal has already worked undercover for a while so they will probably send him ahead to start some intel gathering."

"I'm coming with you," she interrupted.

Leon looked ready to argue but Hilal raised a hand to stop him.

She nodded, "If you think I'm not going to let you go off alone to take down our fathers while I stay here, you don't really know me. I'm going to be at your side to the end of the road, Leon."

If he was honest with himself, he didn't think he could last a week without seeing Hilal let alone a year or two long mission. Maybe it made him selfish to want to bring Hilal somewhere she could be a target, but he didn't care about that right now.

"All right," he agreed.

Hilal took another swig before he reached over to grab the glass.

"Hey," she protested.

"Let's make sure only one of us is hungover tomorrow morning," he said as pulled the bottle away.

 _A year later, Hilal and I were boarding the plane to Athens._

 _For me, I saw it as my duty and responsibility to undertake this mission. I had watched my city become worse rather than better, I'd watched too many lives extinguished too soon. My father and his cartel had brought war to my city, to my adopted country, and that I couldn't take. I was going to take the fight to them. I felt like a soldier sent off to war, telling myself that I had to do this. I also told myself that I had to stop my father's evil, that it was my brother and my responsibility to make sure our father was behind bars at the end of this. That by stopping him we would leave a better legacy for our family, and a better name for our family. That my children wouldn't have to live with the shame of who their grandfather was because their father had stopped him._

 _I had no idea what I had gotten myself into._


	4. Chapter 2: Magical Realism Part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the VS characters or narcos characters. These are characters based loosely on history so I any similarities are due to that.

Chapter 2: Magical Realism

Part 1

Athens 2017

 _The beautiful green landscape against the deep blue sea, it was beautiful. With the mountains rising high above the waves, it was awe-inspiring and majestic. It truly looked like a land where the myths of Zeus and Poseidon could come to life. Where Demeter brought the harvest, and Aphrodite was born from the water. A land where Morpheus was thought to bring dreams, dreams that could inspire people to the greatest heights. It could create dreams of being an Olympian, to be the finest athlete in the land. These lands could inspire people to become the greatest thinkers or writers in the world, to push the boundaries of reality and thought._

 _And these lands could inspire people like Vasili to become billionaire entrepreneurs, just not from the taxi company he apparently ran successfully. He only had three taxis, each apparently bringing in around 10 billion dollars a year. No, Vasili's fortune came from his successful cocaine producing and trafficking business._

"Leon, wake up," Hilal shook him gently.

He blinked his eyes open and yawned, "What is it? Are we there?"

She nodded her head, "We're close, look how beautiful it is."

Leon leaned closer to her to glance out the window and gazed down at the mountain ranges coming into view.

 _These beautiful mountains hid about fifty labs, each lab set up as a small town with over 200 people working and guarding the areas. These labs were where Vasili was producing about 10,000 kilos of cocaine a week, and with each kilo of cocaine selling for anywhere in the range of 50,000 dollars to 150,000 dollars, considering foreign exchange risk, traveling costs, and the fact that the farther the cocaine got the more Vasili made; Vasili was making about 80 million dollars a day._

 _Yeah, you heard that right._

 _CevVas Cartel was bigger than most fortune 500 companies._

Leon glanced as his wife looked out the window, her eyes watching the beautiful landscape coming closer in her view. He smiled as he admired how her eyes matched the blue of the sea, how her loose messy hair from the flight made her look like a beautiful nymph ready to run across the forests below. Better yet, she looked like a fierce Amazon ready to go on a hunt, her hair messy from the wind and her blue eyes shining in eagerness.

He chuckled, Hilal would probably roll her eyes if he said that out loud.

She turned towards him and smiled shyly, "What? Do I have drool on my face?"

It still surprised him how shy she could be about her appearances, he didn't know how many times he had to tell her she was beautiful before she finally got it into her head. Her stubbornness really could be frustrating at times, most times.

He shook his head as she grabbed her purse and brought out her small mirror.

"I look like a mess, Leon," she muttered disapprovingly, "You should have at least told me my hair looks like a bird's nest."

"I think you looked wild and beautiful like a forest nymph or better yet an Amazon," he said cheekily.

She shoved him before combing her hair so it at least didn't look like she had spent the last ten hours sleeping upright, "Stop it, you're not being cute. It's too early and it's been too long of a trip for me to be charmed by your version of flirting, which consists mostly of just telling me long Greek myths that take forever to tell me about the beautiful and strong women that remind you of me."

He pouted but she just rolled her eyes at him.

"Why can't I use my heritage and my love of literature to tell my wife I love her?" he protested.

"You can, it's just you love to really draw out your stories and I need coffee to be patient enough for another hour-long comparison of how I remind you of Hippolyta," Hilal snapped back but her eyes twinkled with amusement.

"It's Smyrna and most women would love their husbands to spend so much time waxing poetic in their favor," Leon pointed out.

"Not when their wives feel gross and anything but beautiful and need caffeine to function," she returned.

"You look beautiful to me," he said as he leaned forward to kiss her, "Like the beautiful Artemis, a fierce huntress and the goddess of the moon."

Hilal pushed him lightly away, "Yes, because my name means crescent moon, as you never forget to remind me through your extensive moon inspired poetry. It's getting old, Leon. And cheesy."

"You know you love it," he returned as he leaned in again for a kiss, but she placed her palm on his chest and pushed him back once again.

"Hilal," he whined.

"We've landed," she said sternly.

Sure enough, they were on the runway slowly making their way towards their terminal. Finally, they stopped and the passengers could stand and get their things.

Hilal gathered her things as Leon grabbed their two carry-ons before they made their way out of the plane.

"Welcome to Athens, we hope you enjoy your stay," the stewardess smiled as they passed her.

"I will as soon as our fathers are dead," Hilal muttered under her breath.

"Hilal," Leon hissed as he glanced around, "What if someone heard you?"

She scoffed, "Nobody heard me, and nobody knows who we're talking about or who we are. I'm sure it's fine."

 _Here's the problem with that, when you're the most powerful men in the country, it's not that hard to buy off airport security to alert them if any suspicious Americans enter the country. I didn't learn it until a little later, but from that moment on I was on the radar of my father. He knew the moment I had entered the country, and later I would learn that he knew exactly why I was there._

Hilal and Leon approached the immigration desk where a young man looked him up and down.

"Passports," he ordered.

When they handed their passports to him, he glanced briefly at Hilal's before eying Leon. Hilal glanced up at Leon but he just shrugged.

"You have a Greek last name," he noted.

"My parents were Greek," Leon said easily, "My mother moved us to the States when we were young."

"You have a familiar last name," he noted, "In fact, some would say you have a very old and famous name."

"I don't know anything about that, it was my father's name and he died when I was young," Leon lied easily.

"Hmm," the other man replied as he read over their immigration papers.

 _In the year since we'd learned about the CevVas cartel, we had also come to learn that our mother had changed our last names when we were young. No doubt she had chosen something unique or chic, mother always had a flare for the dramatic. I wouldn't realize why the immigration officer had been so surprised at my last name, of what that name meant in Greece. Apparently, Agent Fatma hadn't considered that information pertinent to the mission._

 _As it turns out, she was very wrong on that score._

Leon relaxed a bit and leaned into Hilal, "We'll have some coffee in no time."

Hilal whispered softly, "I'm not so sure about that."

He glanced back at the immigration officer to see him reading over his papers for the second time.

"It says here you are going to work as a janitor in the embassy. That's interesting, I could swear that there was another janitor for the embassy coming through here," he noted with a dry smile, "Your embassy must be quite clean then."

Leon gave him a proud look, "You can bet on it, we keep a tight ship."

"Right," the man answered.

He was now looking over Hilal's paperwork, but he didn't ask any questions. He glanced up at her briefly as he studied her passport and her work visa so she could work at the local hospital in Athens. As Leon had made a request for his wife to join them, the DEA had arranged with the Greek government to find her employment so that she could be productive in Greece and not go mad from boredom. Hilal may have put her foot down to follow Leon to Greece, but that didn't mean she wanted to be idle while he completed his mission.

"I'm sorry, but you seem to be missing one of your forms," he finally said.

Hilal's eyes widened, "That's impossible, they're all there."  
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you're missing some information. We need to make sure you have the qualifications to work this job," he explained.

Hilal was glaring at him, "That's ridi…"

Leon cut her off, "What do we need to do?"

"My boss can help you, let me take you to his office and get him," the other man explained as he picked up their papers and passports and lead them away.

They were lead to a small office with a line of cushioned seats and a tv, the immigration officer leaving them to find his boss.

Hilal flopped down and frowned as Leon took a seat across from her, "This is bullshit, Leon. My papers are fine. I rechecked them and even had our immigration lawyer check them, your DEA supervisors even reassured me that there wouldn't be an issue…"

"Hilal, I'm sure they're just being cautious," he reassured her.

She crossed her arms and huffed, and while Leon would normally find it adorable, he could see how tired and strained she was. It hadn't been a small thing to ask her to move their lives across the world even if Hilal was just as adamant that he should accept the assignment to take down the CevVas Cartel. Leon still felt guilty asking this of her, so he was endeavoring to humor her more often.

He was trying, really.

Leon reached into his bag and grabbed a book, "Here, reading always passes the time."

She sighed but grabbed the book, "Thanks."

He smiled softly before he leaned back and closed his eyes, "Wake me up when someone shows up."

Leon fell asleep to the sound of Hilal turning pages and her soft breathing.

"Leon," Hilal hissed as she shook him, "Wake up, you've been asleep for an hour, they're still not here!"

He blinked his eyes open and managed drowsily, "What?"

His wife was furious, "It's been an hour and no one has entered that door, Leon."

She stood up suddenly, "I should give them a piece of my mind…"  
Leon caught her by the arm, "Hilal, don't cause a fight with the immigration officer, we don't need to cause a fuss here. Just be patient."

She jerked her arm away but either she saw his point or she was too tired to argue, because she dropped down on her seat and scowled at him.

Leon sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Hilal, I'm sorry."

She ignored him to glare at the floor instead.

He frowned before glancing around and seeing the tv.

"How about some tv to improve your Greek?" he teased.

Hilal huffed, "You know my Greek is fine, better than yours probably."

He leaned forward, "I doubt that, love. Your Turkish is better than mine, I'll give you that, but that's because your mother spoke it to you and had a tutor teach you on weekends."

"Your Turkish is nonexistent," she retorted.

"But my Greek is still better than yours," he insisted.

She snorted, "Hardly."

She leaned forward, "Don't forget, that I took six semesters of Greek, four of those semesters we shared the same class and I seem to recall scoring higher than you in each of those years."

"It's so adorable that you remember beating me in that class, did you take those classes just to catch my attention?" Leon said slyly.

"You're impossible," Hilal responded quickly as she glanced at the tv to avoid his smug gaze.

She stood up and turned it on, "Let's see if there's anything of interest on."

The tv showed a huge crowd receiving cash as a female reporter came into view.

"He's an entrepreneur, a self-made man who has come from modest origins in this very town of Thessaloniki to become a billionaire. And now he gives back to the people, becoming a modern-day Robin Hood."

A grinning man walked into view as the crowds broke into cheers.

"I'm proud to stand by this incredible man, the Robin Hood of Thessaloniki, Vasili," she practically sang as she smiled adoringly at the man beside her.

The crowds went mad, holding up signs with his image and name, chanting his name over and over as the man of the hour raised his hand and waved.

"My God," Hilal managed.

"They don't even know he's a drug dealer," Leon voiced for her.

His wife turned to him, eyes wide, "Robin Hood of Thessaloniki? Really?"

He whistled, "Look, Hilal."

Hilal glanced back to see Vasili and the female reporter passing out thick wads of cash to members of the crowd. Other men standing near Vasili were doing the same.

 _Vasili was essentially handing out hundreds of dollars to each person there, no wonder the crowds were chanting his name. He was buying the loyalty of everyone in that crowd._

"How can people just stand there and accept his money like that, money from poison, money that people were killed for," Hilal said disgusted.

Leon had read enough of similar situations to offer insight, "It's one of the poorest areas in Greece, and where poverty and corruption go hand in hand, it becomes easy to buy people off. People need to survive, Hilal, at a certain point they don't care what they have to do to ensure that survival."

His wife's gaze hardened but she wasn't given a chance to respond when the door opened.

Leon and his wife immediately stood up as Leon turned the tv off.

The immigration officer entered behind another man, clearly the boss they had been expecting for the last hour.

"Forgive me, there were some issues I had to handle," the man said shortly.

Leon grabbed Hilal's paperwork, "Look, my wife and I have checked and rechecked these immigration forms for her before we even got on the plane, can you please just take care of this for us. I'm sure everything is there."

The man interrupted him, "I need your passport."

Leon eyed him as Hilal handed him their passports, "Here."

The man simply flipped through the two passports before handing back Hilal hers, "Just his."

"I don't understand," Hilal was confused as she glanced at Leon.

But the other man cut her off as he went over to the copier, "I just need his, ma'am."

Hilal frowned and hissed at Leon, "Something is strange about this."

Leon took her by the elbow and shook his head, warning her to keep quiet. She pursed her lips and watched as the man scanned Leon's passport.

He finished and took the paper, setting it aside. He then handed Leon his passport and gave him a sly smile, "Welcome to Athens."

 _What a welcome._


	5. Chapter 2: Magical Realism Part 2

Note: I don't own any of the VS characters or narcos characters. These are characters based loosely on history so I any similarities are due to that.

content warning: This is a cartel fic, so there will be mentions of violence and drugs from this point on from the story. So canon typical violence for a show like narcos is to be expected.

Chapter 2: Magical Realism

Part 2

 _Hilal and I finally left for our new apartment, our new home for the next two years. Or so we thought._

 _After unpacking a few things and setting up the house a bit, I left Hilal to rest and set off for the US Embassy where the base of operations for the DEA and any military groups the US sent to Greece for advising worked. It was where I would find my new partner, my brother. Ali Kemal had spent the last year working on his own in Greece, I was here to make sure he wouldn't be on his own when we took down our father. And I couldn't let him have all the fun, now could I?_

Leon approached the front of the embassy and smiled.

His brother smirked, "Why the hell is that caterpillar still on your face, thought you would have given up growing a mustache by now."

Leon rolled his eyes, "Hello to you too, bro. Missed seeing your face in person, facetime just doesn't really capture how much of an asshole you can be."

"You missed me, that's so sweet," Ali Kemal grinned, "I was too busy to miss you."

"Right," Leon said, "Come here."

"No hugs," Ali Kemal said as he backed a bit.

"Too bad," Leon said as he grabbed his brother in a tight hug.

After a moment of stiffly standing there, Ali Kemal sighed and wrapped his arms around his younger brother, "Glad to have you back in my life, Leon. Life was too quiet without your constant need to fill it with your poetry."

Leon chuckled, "I knew you liked listening to literature, you're too lazy to read it yourself so you need me to add culture to your life."

"I'd hoped your wife would knock out the arrogance out of you but even she can't manage that," Ali Kemal responded cheekily.

"It's part of my charm," Leon replied.

"Right," Ali Kemal replied before changing the subject, "How is Hilal?"

"She's good, a bit tired after the trip," Leon replied.

Ali Kemal paused outside the door, and asked quietly, "And how is mom?"  
Leon stuck his hands into his pockets and stared at the floor.

"Uh, she's good," he offered.

"She's still mad we accepted the assignment to Greece?" Ali Kemal cut in.

Leon nodded before saying, "More like she was begging me not to go for the last couple weeks since we told her we were joining you, and practically demanding us to get you to return."

His brother snorted, "That's not happening, I'm not leaving until we get Vasili."

"I wasn't about to tell her that," Leon shot back, "She'd never let me leave if she thought I was going after Vasili, I told her we were going after some low-level cartel members we're following from Chicago."

 _We had both assumed that our mother had left Greece probably because she knew her husband was involved in some criminal organization and that she wanted no part of it. Considering the dangers of being involved or connected to cartels, we also thought that she was probably trying to protect us as well. We ended up being half right._

Ali Kemal raised an eyebrow, "Did she buy that?"

"Yeah, I think she did," Leon responded easily.

 _She didn't._

His brother sighed, "We'll tell her the truth once this is all over, no sense worrying her or putting her at risk of knowing too much."

Leon nodded.

They spent the next hour introducing Leon to the distinct groups based in the US embassy in Athens, Leon met with the military advisors sent to advice the Greek government on any terrorist threats, they met with computer experts sent there to monitor Russian intelligence in case of any hacks, and they met the chief guys tasked with running the surveillance and tracking unit.

"Welcome to the DEA nerds," Ali Kemal said as he gestured to a group of five people.

"Asshole," one of them muttered before standing up.

Leon smiled as he shook his hand.

"I'm Jason," he said, "I hope you'll be nicer to work with than your brother."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Leon smiled.

"So, what do you got for me?" Ali Kemal cut in as he crossed his arms.

Jason grabbed some papers, "We'll been listening in on some calls and think there's a kidnapping with one of the persons of interest, we should have more information soon but we think this m-19 group might be involved."

Ali Kemal read over the files, "See if you can get some names, I'll see if my informant knows anything."

Leon glanced over, "M-19? Like the group from Colombia?"

Ali Kemal glanced, "Yeah, they're inspired by them, those idiots don't really understand that the 19 stands for the date of the election that group claimed was screwed with."

"Shouldn't the Greek police do something about them? I mean a guerrilla group is dangerous," Leon offered as he glanced through some photos of a house in the mountains.

Ali Kemal scoffed as Jason smiled.

Leon glanced between them, "What?"  
"These are just a bunch of fools who got inspired by their professor or something and decided to hide out in a house in the mountains and post online videos about how they're going to liberate Greece," Ali Kemal explained, "Problem is, they're just a group of about 20 people and their lead, who renamed himself Vladimir the Great"

Leon looked at him in disbelief, "Seriously?"

"You can't write this stuff, bro. I doubt these kidnapping will end up being anything more than a minor event," Ali Kemal chuckled before checking his watch, "We got to go, Ambassador Crawford is waiting.

Leon handed Jason the papers as Ali Kemal ordered, "I want to know more about the chatter as soon as possible, time is always of the essence with these guys."

"Since you asked so nicely," Jason grumbled under his breath.

"You're the best, Jason!" Ali Kemal called as they rushed down the hallway, "Crap, the ambassador is going to kill me, we were supposed to meet with her ten minutes ago."

Leon groaned, "You're terrible, bro. Now she's going to think that I'm the younger taller version of you. Worst way to make an impression."  
"Please, everyone always love you, you exude charm that fools everyone except apparently your wife," Ali Kemal snapped back as they came into view of the secretary, "Also, you're not that much taller or younger than me."

"Late again, Ali Kemal?" she eyed him.

Ali Kemal smiled, "You look great today!"

"I'm not the one you should charm," she responded as she typed, "She's just about had it with you."

Ali Kemal's smile disappeared and he shoved Leon inside, "Hurry."

Leon stumbled into the office to see a sharply dressed woman with dark hair turn around and scowl at his brother.

"Ali Kemal, what have I said about annoying me?" she warned.

"That I'm this close to being sent back to the US," Ali Kemal responded as he brought his fingers up to emphasis the very small margin of error he was allowed.

"And how do I look now?" she demanded as she sat down.

"Glad to see me?" he offered.

Her frowned widened, "This is the last time, do I make this clear?"

"Absolutely," he said solemnly.

She didn't seem that convinced, she turned to Leon, "I assume you're his brother, DEA agent Leon Papadakis?"

She was eyeing him suspiciously, and he swallowed before talking.

"Yes," he replied before saying, "It's an honor to meet you, I hope I will do this country and you proud during my stay here. I can assure you that I will do my job efficiently and responsibly."

His sincere look must have won her over because she noted, "I have a feeling I'm going to like you more than your brother over here."

Leon grinned as Ali Kemal huffed.

"I'm wonderful," Ali Kemal protested.

The ambassador raised an eyebrow, "No, Agent Ali Kemal, you most certainly are not."

Ali Kemal looked to protest but she cut him off, "I have another meeting in five minutes, get out of my office and see what your supervisor has for you."

They nodded before filing out.

Ali Kemal gestured down the hallway, "Go meet Yakup, our supervisor here."

"Where are you going?" Leon asked.

"I'm going to check over some files," his brother replied as he walked away.

Leon's meeting with his supervisor went well, Yakup was a friendly looking man who Leon guessed wasn't going to give his agents a tough time. He told Leon that he wanted them to report to him daily when they were sent out of Athens. Yakup then became stern as he told Leon to behave himself. He added that he didn't want to hear about any funny business, there were too many reports of agents and marines getting caught up with local women and parties and putting themselves in compromising situations.

"No funny business," Yakup ordered, "I don't want to hear a story that we lost classified files because of some drunkenness and fooling around."

"I'm married, sir," Leon replied strongly, feeling the need to defend himself.

Yakup eyed him, "Hmm."

Leon brandished his wedding band, "Happily and devotedly married, sir."

Yakup brightened, "That's wonderful, good to know your brother is the only one I have to worry about."

Leon was starting to realize that his brother may be somewhat of a loose cannon.

But Yakup changed subjects, "You've been briefed on your mission here?"

Leon nodded.

"Good, you and your brother will be working with the Greek police force, you will provide intel to them and accompany them on missions, but you will respect their commanders' orders. We have to work with the Greeks not jump in and act like we own the place, understand?"

Leon indicated that he did.

"Good, just a few more things and you'll be all set…" Yakup said as he grabbed some papers.

 _Yakup was probably the nicest man you'd ever meet in the DEA, but he was also intelligent, resourceful, and loyal to the men and women who served under his command._

 _He also was obsessed with disguises. An unhealthy obsession with fake facial hair._

Leon and Ali Kemal exited the embassy as Leon glanced around, "That was interesting, how long did it take for you to piss off the ambassador?"

"About a month into my mission," Ali Kemal shrugged as Leon gave him a look, "What? She doesn't like that I always check in on her to give her my reports."  
"Bro, you only do that because you're constantly begging her for money or visas for informants," Leon pointed out as his brother eyed him suspiciously.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"While you were checking files, Yakup filled me in on your habits," his younger brother remarked as he put on his sunglasses.

Ali Kemal muttered under his breath, "I'm a delight."

Suddenly, a ringtone went off. Ali Kemal grabbed his phone and answered it.

"Hey, Hilal," he said as Leon looked up, "What's going on? Who? Seriously?"

Leon was worried now he leaned over, "Is Hilal alright?"

Ali Kemal handed him the phone, "Your wife has a surprise guest in your new apartment."

He grabbed the phone worriedly, "Hilal, sweetheart, is everything alright?"

"No, everything is not all right, Leon," Hilal replied angrily, "that witch had the nerve to enter our home."

"What?" Leon managed confused.

"Get over here as soon as you can, because I'm this close to stabbing her with her heels," Hilal threatened.

"Hilal, just tell me you're safe," he pressed.

"Oh, I'm safe, she's the one who should be afraid," Hilal muttered under her breath.

"Who?" he questioned, calming a bit.

"Yildiz, the cartel princess has decided to grace me with her presence," Hilal mockingly, "If I have my way, it will be the last thing she'll ever do."  
"Hilal," he warned.

"I won't lay a finger on her," Hilal promised after a moment, "For now."  
He sighed, "Thank you, we'll be right over."  
"Hurry," she said.

He hung up and look as his brother, "Looks like dad already knows I'm here."

His brother was thoughtful, "Funny that."

"We can wonder about that later, my wife is contemplating murdering her own sister," Leon said as he rushed over to his car.

"I'm sure Hilal wouldn't," Ali Kemal offered as he entered the car.

Leon turned to him blankly, "You've been away from my wife for so long you've forgotten her talent at holding grudges and the extent of her hate for our fathers and anyone remotely connected to their cartel. I swear, one day I'm going to find dolls with pins in them and I really don't think I'll be that surprised."

Ali Kemal just eyed him, "Floor it."

They arrived at the apartment to see a red Ferrari parked outside.

"Yildiz is definitely here," Ali Kemal noted as Leon turned to him, "What? I keep track of a bunch of people, Yildiz goes out a lot around town in this car! It's not that unusual that I recognize her car!"

Leon didn't want to touch whatever that was with a ten-foot pole, "Come on."

They entered the apartment building and made their way cautiously towards Leon and Hilal's apartment.

He approached the door and kept a hand ready to grab his gun as Ali Kemal tensed behind him.

Suddenly, the door opened and both men raised their guns up.

To point them at a furious Hilal, who raised an eyebrow at them.

Leon immediately put his gun down apologetically.

"No, you have the right idea," Hilal said as she extended her hand, "Give me the gun so I can shoot her right now."

"Hilal! You can't shoot your sister!" Leon hissed.

She frowned, "Why the hell not?"

He looked up to the ceiling, "Lord help me."

Ali Kemal stepped in, "We still don't know if she's involved in the cartel, technically she may have never done anything wrong."

Hilal shot him a withering look, "She's complicit, that's reason enough."

Leon placed his hands on her shoulders, "Darling, I know you're angry, but we can't let our anger get in the way of our mission. We have to take down our fathers to bring justice for all those victims."

"They'll pay for what they've done, Hilal," Ali Kemal promised, "We'll make sure of it."

"But not this way," Leon pressed.

Hilal looked like she wanted to argue but that's when a voice rang out, "Hilal? Who's that at the door?"


	6. Chapter 2: Magical Realism Part 3

Note: I don't own any of the VS characters or narcos characters. These are characters based loosely on history so I any similarities are due to that.

content warning: This is a cartel fic, so there will be mentions of violence and drugs from this point on from the story. So canon typical violence for a show like narcos is to be expected.

Chapter 2: Magical Realism

Part 3

Hilal looked like she wanted to argue but that's when a voice rang out, "Hilal? Who's that at the door?"

Hilal frowned as a beautiful raven-haired woman came in view and placed her hands on Hilal's shoulders playfully. Yildiz was every inch the cartel princess, dressed in a silk blouse and dark jeans with a heavy gold medallion necklace hanging off her neck, and her perfectly manicured hands wore a large emerald ring. She looked like a million dollars, a beautiful million dollars made from an ugly business that is.

Yildiz smiled up at the two men as they froze, "Why, Hilal, aren't you going to introduce me to your husband for the first time?"

Hilal scowled and moved quickly away but Yildiz didn't seem to notice she just took Leon's hand and shook it, "Welcome to the family, Leon. About time, I remember Hilal couldn't stop writing love poems dedicated to you. Oh, I remember the time she thought you were dating that blonde swimmer from our English class. She couldn't stop glaring at her all summer."

Normally, Leon would have loved finding out about Hilal's crush on him in high school, but right now his wife looked like she was inches away from grabbing his gun and he really wanted to know why Yildiz was here. And how she even knew they had arrived today and were staying here.

He placed a hand on Hilal's shoulder to keep her in place, "Thank you, Yildiz. I'd love to hear more about this, but I have to wonder…"

"What are you doing here?" Ali Kemal questioned, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Yildiz looked surprised, "What? Shouldn't I visit my only sister and her husband?"

"You didn't care enough to stay for the wedding," Hilal ground out, "And you've basically cut off all contact with mom and me. The question stands, what are you doing here?"  
Her sister frowned a bit before sighing, "You're right, I should have stayed but Greece was just calling me, you know? This is where I belong, I feel alive."

Leon couldn't help but think to himself that it was the money that called for Yildiz.

His wife and brother's thoughts were the same.

Yildiz grabbed Hilal's hands in her own, "But I want to make up for it, I wanted to welcome you home and bring you a message."

"What kind of message?" Leon said warily.

"From your father and mine," Yildiz said, "Both of our fathers want to make up for lost time, and they were overjoyed to hear that Leon and Hilal had moved here."

 _How did they find that out today?_ Leon wondered to himself.

But apparently, they hadn't been aware that Ali Kemal had already been here for a year. Or they had been and had been waiting for a perfect moment to approach them, Hilal arriving being the excuse they needed to send Yildiz.

"Vasili is throwing a huge charity ball tonight and he wanted me to personally invite the two of you," Yildiz said happily, "You too, Ali Kemal."  
Hilal couldn't help but say, "You're not serious?"

Yildiz ignored her to say, "Everyone who's anyone will be there, and Vasili and father really would love to see you both before they go back to Thessaloniki to take care of some important business. They will be swamped for the coming weeks so this is the only chance for them to reconnect with you guys."

Leon and Ali Kemal shared a look before Ali Kemal said, "Look, Yildiz, we appreciate the invitation. But Hilal and Leon just got here and I'm helping them unpack, and we really don't have anything to wear…"

Yildiz waved him off, "Oh, don't worry. I expected that, so I brought a couple suits for Leon that should fit you too, and I brought a beautiful dress for Hilal."

She grabbed her sister's arm and giggled, "I can do your makeup and hair just like old times! Isn't this grand? When I'm done with you, Leon won't be the only one who can't keep his eyes off you tonight!"

Hilal pried her hand off, "I can dress myself thank you, but I won't be going."

Yildiz pouted, "But you have to come? You can't disappoint father."

Her younger sister scowled, "I don't care about our father."

But her sister was persistent, "He feels awful about abandoning us when we were young, but that's not his fault, Hilal. Our mother decided to leave him. He only wants a chance to get to know you, what could be the harm if you come tonight?"

"We really can't come, Yildiz," Leon attempted but Ali Kemal raised a hand.

"We'll consider it, give me the address and we'll meet you there," he said.

Yildiz nodded and reached into her bag to hand him a card for a hotel. Ali Kemal recognized it as one of the best hotels in the city.

"Let me get the clothes from the car too, and then I have to go run a few more errands," Yildiz said brightly, "I really hope you'll come, you'll have a marvelous time!"

She practically glided out the room.

Once she was gone, Hilal snapped at her brother-in-law, "You can't be serious?"

Ali Kemal shrugged, "Maybe we can find out some stuff there."

Hilal narrowed her eyes, "They're not going to talk their cocaine business in front of us!"

"Of course, they won't, but maybe by getting into Vasili's good graces wouldn't be such a terrible thing for now. Who knows, maybe we'll even be able catch a glance at the rest of his cartel," Ali Kemal offered.

They heard an exaggerated knock at the door, and Leon and Ali Kemal immediately stiffened and placed their hands on their guns as Leon pushed Hilal behind him.

"Hello?" Yildiz called from behind the door, "I just wanted to drop off the dress and suits, remember?"

They relaxed as Ali Kemal opened the door to reveal a smiling Yildiz with three garment bags.

She handed the first to Ali Kemal, "This should fit you."

"Thanks, I guess," he said as he eyed the bag.

"Don't wrinkle the shirt, I remember your poor treatment of clothes," she said wrinkling her nose at him as he gave her a mocking smile.

She turned brightly towards Leon, "And for my dashing brother-in-law."

Leon took the bag from her as he forced a polite smile, "Thank you, Yildiz."

Yildiz nodded before practically skipping over to a frowning Hilal, "Don't worry, Hilal, I did say I had something for you too."

"Wonderful," Hilal muttered under breath but Yildiz didn't seem to hear her.

"This will be a love color on you," Yildiz said, "And it will probably be the most expensive dress you've ever worn, it is couture after all."

She held out the garment bag but Hilal didn't reach out to take it, just staring coolly at her sister.

Leon gestured to her to take the bag, mouthing, "Don't make a scene, Hilal."

Yildiz chuckled, "Oh, don't be so proud to accept this gift from me, it's father's money and he wants to spend it on his daughters."

She placed the garment in Hilal's arms before making her way out the door.

"Don't be late," she called as she waved goodbye.

When the door closed and they were alone, Hilal dropped the garment bag as if it was a burning object.

"Hilal," Leon began but she cut him off.

"I'm not going to wear whatever is in that bag, and I'm certainly not going to share a night with those monsters pretending I don't want to grab the nearest blunt object and beat them to death with it," his wife said firmly.

"So, you've contemplated murder then," Ali Kemal noted, "Leon, you might want be careful around that one."

Hilal glared at him but Leon grabbed her by the shoulders to face him.

He leaned down to look her in the eyes, "Hilal, I'm not sure we can refuse this invitation, we might just invite suspicion and scrutiny if we don't."

She placed a hand on his chest and shoved him back, "Absolutely not."

 _My wife is a stubborn one._

 _We ended up returning to the embassy, where we talked the invitation over. Finally, Yakup and Ambassador Crawford decided on the best course of action._

Leon fixed his sleeves as Ali Kemal fixed up his hair.

"Well?" Leon asked as he turned towards his brother.

"You look even better than you did at your wedding," Ali Kemal commented, "A fine suit can really elevate a man. That's probably the finest suit drug money can buy."

"Don't remind me were this suit came from," Leon sighed.

"Do you think we can keep them after tonight?" Ali Kemal wondered as he fixed his tie.

Leon shot him a disgusted look and Ali Kemal raised his hands, "I was joking, although with our salaries…"

"No," Leon said firmly.

They heard soft footsteps and familiar cursing.

"That would be your wife, I'm sure she's thrilled with her dress," Ali Kemal teased.

Leon rubbed his eyes tiredly, "This has been too long of a day for me to have to deal with Hilal when she's like this."

He heard his brother chuckle.

Leon held his head in his hand and heard his wife enter the room.

"Not a word," Hilal said seething.

Ali Kemal whistled.

"I'll kill you, Ali Kemal," she warned.

Leon took a deep breath to face his wife, and nearly lost balance.

Before him stood his wife, the image of a goddess. Her dress was a blush color with gold embellishments at the straps and lovey pink flowers adorned the top of the dress. The dress was cinched at the waist with a gold belt, and the skirt began with more pink flowers and gold embroidered birds that then opened to a full floor length tulle skirt. overall, the dress had an ethereal look to it. Hilal's hair was done up in a messy bun to give an effortless touch to the look.

She practically glowed, she was breathtaking.

"Beautiful," he muttered.

Even her murderous look couldn't take away from her beauty.

"Hilal, stop scowling, you look stunning," Ali Kemal pointed out.

If possible, her glare grew angrier, "Look at me in this thing, can't you see it practically is dripping in the blood of the people murdered so that my bitch of a sister could buy this dress?"

Ali Kemal rolled his eyes, "Oh, stop being so dramatic, Hilal. It's just for one night."  
She clenched her hands, but whatever she was going to say was cut off by Yakup who entered in a simple suit and a false mustache. He glanced around and nodded in approval.

They filed into the car as Yakup took his place at the wheel, having decided to accompany his agents as their driver for the night. Ali Kemal sat next to him as Hilal and Leon sat in the back.

Hilal struggled to arrange her skirts as she muttered angrily to herself.

Leon found himself staring at her again, as the moonlight bounced off Hilal's dress to make her seem to sparkle in the night sky, like a beautiful nymph of the forest, or…

"Persephone," he said suddenly.

Hilal turned to him with her eyes wide, "What?"

"I was just thinking you look just like Persephone," he offered gently with a loving smile.

His wife blinked rapidly, as if she couldn't believe she had just heard that. He smiled at her, even after nearly five years of marriage she still was so unused to being called beautiful sometimes. She was so adorable when she looked as stunned as she was now, he couldn't help himself; he leaned in to kiss her.

Then without warning, she kicked him in the leg.

"Ow! Hilal, that hurt!" he yelped as he rubbed his knee.

"Good! That will teach you not to call me beautiful," she said angrily as she sat back and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Hilal, why can't I tell my wife she looks magnificent?" Leon questioned still wincing from the pain, "Damn it, darling, you really have to learn to control your strength."

"Leon, one more time you say how beautiful I look with this monstrosity on, and I'll no longer be Mrs. Hilal Papadaki," she warned.

"You're not serious…" Leon scoffed until he sobered at her dead serious expression.

Yakup glanced over at Ali Kemal, "Should we get involved?"

Ali Kemal shook his head, "Best not to get in the middle of one of their spats, I learned that the hard way, sir."

"I'm serious, do you understand what these dress means to me?" Hilal demanded, "You see me dolled up, I see a dress that cost people's lives. I see this dress and I remember the monster our fathers are. I see a reminder of how my sister is complicit in my father's crimes, Leon. I'm going to have to pretend like I don't want to throw up at the sight of our fathers, at the sight of people celebrating them like they were this morning on the news."

Hilal's eyes were watering, and Leon felt his heart break for his wife. Today had already been a difficult enough day with the move, but to have to face her sister and father, the father she felt such hate and betrayal for? He was asking too much of her.

He gently brushed away the tear and kissed her forehead, "I'm sorry."

She breathed sharply and shivered, he pulled her into his arms and she rested her chin on his shoulder as he held her close.

"I know this is too much to ask of you, my love," he said, "And I don't mean just tonight, all of it. I wish it could be different."

He wished that they had different fathers, that they were just agents sent to a foreign country to take down a stranger.

"I want them dead," she murmured.

"I know," he soothed, "You know I can't promise you their deaths, but I will promise you we will take them down. Okay?"

She nodded into his suit before pulling away, "Okay."

He wiped her cheeks before leaning forward to kiss her softly.

"I love you," he murmured as he pulled away.

She leaned back and squared her shoulders, "I can do this."

Leon smiled proudly at his wife as Yakup glanced back.

"See? Best to just leave them to sort out things by themselves," Ali Kemal said smugly.

"I just hope you all keep things under control tonight," Yakup said.

"Don't worry, we're professionals," Ali Kemal promised.

The look Yakup gave him was not very reassuring.

 _My brother was a great agent, probably the second best sent to Greece. He was the one coming back with the best intel, managing to find informants with the information most others dreamed of getting._

 _Unfortunately, my brother was a bit too careless and flippant when he did his job. And he was completely prepared to break a few rules along the way if the result was getting Vasili._

 _He told me that's what it takes in Greece, that's what it means to be "all in."_

Hope you guys enjoy!

Here's the pic of Hilal's dress: fashion-shows/fall-2016-couture/elie-saab/slideshow/collection#53


	7. Chapter 2: Magical Realism Part 4

Note: I don't own any of the VS characters or narcos characters. These are characters based loosely on history so I any similarities are due to that.

content warning: This is a cartel fic, so there will be mentions of violence and drugs from this point on from the story. So canon typical violence for a show like narcos is to be expected.

Chapter 2: Magical Realism

Part 4

Ali Kemal stood in awe as he took in his surroundings, of the golden walls and the massive chandeliers handing above them. Everywhere there were people dressed in the finest clothes money could buy, dripping with jewels. Scattered among these people were a few men and women dressed in dress military uniform, and he felt his eyes narrow. Here were the oligarchs bought off by his father, their loyalty to money more than their loyalty to their country. He tried not to let his disdain show.

A silence hit the room as everyone turned towards someone making a grand entrance.

Ali Kemal curiously followed their gaze and stopped.

Yildiz strutted in, and everyone's eyes seemed glued on her.

Ali Kemal felt his jaw drop.

Yildiz was dressed in a dark blue dress, a plunging velvet dress with a big slit flashing her long legs as she walked. She had her lovely black hair in waves swept to the side, and her lips were a bright red. Her dress was made even more dramatic by the tulle train and the embellishments on the shoulder and one side of her waist that spiked out, like thorns. She looked every inch the cartel princess, draped in luxury in an enticing, dangerous way.

Get to close and Yildiz might entrap you or kill you.

She was gorgeous, Ali Kemal admitted to himself as he averted his eyes, "Dammit."

"Focus," he breathed.

He grabbed a glass from a passing server and chugged it down.

Leon eyed him curiously, but Ali Kemal coughed, "Taking advantage of the great booze."

"Right," Leon remarked as he turned to his wife, "Hilal, loosen your grip. I'd like to have my right arm intact at the end of tonight."

She relaxed her grip, "Sorry."

"I know," he said softly as he leaned his head near her.

Ali Kemal felt a twinge of envy, but quickly pushed it down as Yildiz came towards them.

"You made it!" a she said giddily.

Ali Kemal grunted in greeting as Leon politely smiled but Yildiz turned her attention to her sister.

"You look lovely, and what did I say? Everyone can't keep their eyes off you!"

 _Or you_ , Ali Kemal thought as he tried not to admire her.

Leon scowled and Yildiz laughed, "Oh, don't you worry, Leon. No one's going to steal Hilal from you."

Yildiz leaned in to Hilal to say slyly, "I never realized that Leon had such a jealous streak in him, I always thought you were the jealous one of the two."

Hilal frowned slightly before cringing as Yildiz gave her a quick side hug.

 _I hate you_ , Hilal mouth to Leon.

Leon's scowl disappeared as he gave her a pleading look, as if to say, _It's not my fault_.

Ali Kemal watched this silent exchange finding it quite entertaining.

"Well, there's someone you have to meet," Yildiz said, "And here he comes."

They heard footsteps from behind them as Yildiz added, "Chairman Vasili has been waiting quite a while for this."

"I have indeed," a voice from behind them.

Ali Kemal breathed in sharply, noting that Leon had tensed as well. Hilal glanced up at him in concern, bringing her other hand to run it up and down his arm to calm him.

"Boss," Yildiz smiled that charming smile of hers that Ali Kemal was really finding annoying.

The man stepped in front of them to face them as he smiled at them.

"Boss, Ali Kemal, Leon, his wife and my sister, Hilal," Yildiz said as she stepped beside Vasili.

Vasili was a handsome man, with his hair still jet black and twinkling blue eyes that seemed to hide the world's secrets. He smiled an easy smile, and he had laugh and smile lines. This was a man who enjoyed life, but there was a cleverness there that belied the easy temperament he gave off.

He looked at his sons warmly, "My how you've grown, Dimitri, it seems just like yesterday you shoved the neighbor's kid for stealing your baby brother favorite teddy."

"It's Ali Kemal now," he corrected.

"Hmm," his father managed before glancing proudly at his youngest, "My son, you're grown into a handsome man, taller than your brother and I."

Leon plastered a grin but said nothing.

Vasili didn't seem to care, he took in his two sons for a moment as if to savor this moment. He sighed wistfully before his turning to Hilal. He looked her up and down and smiled as if he approved of the image before him, making Hilal press closer to Leon as Leon tried not to glare openly at the man.

"And you must be my beautiful daughter-in-law, Leon you've chosen well, son. Gorgeous, and if she's half as clever as her father, a beauty with a brain," he mused.

"She chose me really," Leon offered he gripped Hilal's hand tighter.

"Well, welcome to the family, my dear," Vasili said as he grabbed her hand to bring it up to his lips, "Anything you two needs, anything at all, just name it. You are family, and I intend to take care of my family."

Hilal slowly retracted her hand and managed a smile, "Thank you."

Vasili smiled.

Yildiz raised her hand and called, "Daddy! She's here!"

Cevdet came into view and Hilal gripped her husband like he was her lifeline and breathed heavily. After a moment, she stiffened and stepped away from her husband to take a step towards her father.

Cevdet walked over and as his eyes fell on his younger daughter, he smiled softly. He approached her and placed his hands on either side of her face, "Hilal, my beautiful little bird."

Hilal's eyes were wide as he kissed her forehead. She grasped blindly for Leon's hand and he stepped quietly forward and took it. He stroked her hand gently with his thumb as her breathing slowed.

Cevdet pulled back to smile at her, "I'm so glad you're here, Hilal. Yildiz has told me so much about you, but nothing comes close to seeing your daughter in person."  
Hilal managed a nod, "It's good to see you too, father."

Leon winced and Ali Kemal could swear he heard a crack.

 _I'm sure Leon doesn't need his shooting hand anyway_ , he mused.

Cevdet's smile widened and his eyes shined.

He turned towards Leon, "And you must be her husband, Leon. Yildiz told us about the marriage."

"Imagine our surprise and joy at hearing that we officially became family," Vasili cut in.

Cevdet extended his hand towards Leon, "I've heard only good things from Yildiz, I'm very happy Hilal found her soulmate in her childhood friend."

Hilal reluctantly released her husband's hand so Leon could return the handshake.

"Thank you," Leon said.

Vasili glanced at his watch, "I wish we could catch up more but business awaits, perhaps some time later we can talk. Miss Yildiz, do make sure they have an enjoyable time."

"Of course," she nodded respectfully.

Vasili left with one last smile as Cevdet followed him.

Yildiz spun around, "Well, why don't I show you around and introduce you to some of our guests?"

She looked at Ali Kemal expectantly her arm extended as if expecting him to take it.

She looked at him with those beautiful green eyes and her pretty smile, and _what harm would it do to just enjoy the night…_

He stamped those thoughts away as he muttered, "I'll stay here, not feeling up to walking around much. Not a people person."  
Yildiz's eyes flashed angrily for a second, so quickly Ali Kemal thought for sure he had missed it.

She turned towards Hilal and Leon, but Hilal was quick to say, "I'm going to stick around here, make sure he doesn't drink himself under the table."

Ali Kemal sneered at his sister-in-law.

Her sister frowned but Hilal shoved Leon over, "I'm sure Leon would love to catch up on old times with you."

Leon shot her a look before saying, "It has been a while since we've had time to talk, Yildiz."

Yildiz brightened and looped her arm through Leon's and dragged him away, Leon turned his face to mouth, Hilal, _this is not fair!_

But his wife had grabbed a glass from a waiter and mockingly raised it towards her husband, _I love you, darling_.

Leon's eyes narrowed as he turned his head away.

"That will teach him to compliment me in this dress," she said.

"You're evil," Ali Kemal noted as he tipped his glass towards her.

She smirked and clinked her glass with his.

 _I love my wife, I really do. But I swear she made it her goal to torment me through our marriage._

Yildiz leaned in closer, "I'm really glad you came, Leon. We should really make up for lost time."

Leon decided not to mention that she was the one who had run away from her family and her friends only to end up here living a life of luxury paid for by drug money.

Yildiz glanced around as they walked around the grand ballroom, strolling past the circle of dancing couples.

Yildiz nudged Leon suddenly with her shoulder, "That's General Dimitriou, one of your father's closest friends in the army. Beside him is police colonel Colonel Antonopoulos. He's quite the charmer, and a wonderful dancer."

General Dimitriou nodded in greeting as the younger man turned and smiled as Yildiz flashed him a flirty smile before she guided Leon away.

"And that's the representative from Thessaloniki and his wife, a lovely pair," Yildiz continued.

She tilted her head, "That's the representative from Crete, and the woman beside him is the representative from Patra."

Leon wondered if these powerful figures knew who their host really was, or did they know and just not care? They were briefed that Vasili had connections in the government and army, but he wondered how deep Vasili's influence went.

 _Vasili's influence, in fact, went very deep. It was a simple matter of offering a choice to people who could stand in his way, money or death. It was a simple but effective choice, one that allowed Vasili the influence and power needed to keep running his illegal business. Politicians were paid or threatened to smooth over any concerns or questions about where Vasili's money really came from. Army and police officers loyal to Vasili made it easy for Vasili to do whatever he wanted without worrying about any kind of interference impeding his drug trafficking. Very few people were honest enough to refuse his bribes, even fewer were brave enough to withstand his threats._

"Father had invited General Markoras, but he refused," Yildiz said sourly, "Arrogant, odious man."

Yildiz waved over at some well-dressed women before adding, "Of course, your father went out of his way to invite Colonel Mehmet tonight, but the colonel refused our invitation quite rudely. I've heard he's terribly boring so perhaps it's best he didn't deign to show up. Married to his job they say."

"Doesn't sound like he would enjoy a party," Leon mused, "Is he someone very important for Vasili to personally invite?"

Yildiz smiling knowingly, "He's the police colonel responsible for the Thessaloniki province, your father wanted to work with him as part of his bettering the neighborhood initiative. Make the streets safer in Thessaloniki so that children don't have to be afraid to go out, things like that."

"Didn't know father was so charitable," Leon said as he tried not to sound mocking.

"Oh, yes, buying homes for the poor and funding for hospitals and sports programs," Yildiz replied, "Your father runs quite the charity for his home city, it's unfortunate that Colonel Mehmet thinks his work is too important to join us today, these parties are a key part of business not just pleasure."

Leon wondered if the colonel just hated parties, or he was one of the few not on Vasili's payroll. He mused on that thought for a moment before he caught sight of his wife and brother each grab another glass from a server.

He sighed.

"This was quite nice, Yildiz, but I really should stop Hilal from drinking herself into a stupor," Leon smiled, "Hilal can't handle her alcohol at all, she'd hate it if I didn't stop her from embarrassing herself from having too much to drink."

Yildiz looked over, "It looks like she's already looking a bit tipsy, go on and rescue your wife. I have some people to talk to myself."

She broke away from him and smiled before wandering off.

Leon made his way to his wife who was already grabbing another champagne flute. He picked up his steps and grabbed the flute before she could bring it to her lips.

"Hey!" she protested.

"You've had enough, dear," Leon handed the glass to Ali Kemal as he grabbed Hilal's arm to gently guided her away.

Ali Kemal waved them off and finished off Hilal's drink in one chug.

Leon eyed him as he muttered, "We should really keep an eye on his alcohol intake."

Hilal nodded before she noticed they were approaching the other dancers, "Where are you taking me?"

"Relax, I'm not kidnapping you," Leon teased, "I just thought a dance would be nice."  
She narrowed her eyes and stopped, "I don't want to dance."

She turned to leave but he gently pulled her by the arm, "Come on, you'll enjoy it. How often will we get the chance to dance?"

"Leon, my feet are killing me and I'm freezing in this dress," she hissed, "I hate how exposed I feel."

But her husband held her hand and gave her a pleading look, "Come on humor me."

She stubbornly rooted herself where she stood, "No."

He sighed and leaned down, "Please, loosen up tonight for me? Maybe you'll enjoy it."

Hilal eyed him as he pleaded once last time, "Just relax and have a bit of fun for a while."

"You don't seem to understand where we are," she remarked her eyes flashing to his father in the distance, but her resolve seemed to be weakening.

He smiled at her, "Think of it as part of the job, people will wonder why we aren't dancing."

She rolled her eyes, "Leon, that is incredibly stupid, oof."

She gasped as he pulled her close and placed his hand around her back and was spinning her around the room as she glared at him.

"Leon," she warned.

He released her but only to spin her around and pull her back in, "You were saying?"

She looked at him, her eyes softening and he smiled inwardly.

She bit her lip before relaxing in his arms.

He took that as his cue to keep dancing. They swayed to the music, both in perfect harmony with each other. Leon would release her to spin her before gently pulling her back to him and guiding her around the dance floor. The second time he brought her back Hilal glanced down and tried to hide her smile. The third time she couldn't help it, she smiled up at him as he grinned back.

"This isn't that bad," she managed.

"What was that?" he asked cheekily.

She gave him a challenging look, "Don't push it."

He chuckled and spun her one last time before the music stopped. He stood smiling down at her as he held her hand, and despite herself, she found herself smiling too.

"I love you," he muttered.

Her gaze softened, "I love you too. Even when you force me into these evil heels."

He brought her hand to his lips, "I'll make sure those heels never see the light of day."

Hilal gave him the brightest smile he had seen from her today.

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Here's Yildiz's dress: fashion-shows/fall-2016-couture/elie-saab/slideshow/collection#39


	8. Chapter 2: Magical Realism Part 5

Note: I don't own any of the VS characters or narcos characters. These are characters based loosely on history so I any similarities are due to that.

content warning: This is a cartel fic, so there will be mentions of violence and drugs from this point on from the story. So canon typical violence for a show like narcos is to be expected.

Chapter 2: Magical Realism

Part 5

"May I have the next dance with my daughter?" Cevdet asked as he appeared at Hilal's side and looked at Leon.

Hilal stiffened and discretely shook her head.

Her husband eyed her, but Cevdet had already turned to Hilal.

"You'd make an old man happy," her father said as his eyes twinkled with mirth.

Hilal's eyes found Leon who mouthed, _Play along_.

She mouthed back, _You're a dead man_.

He inwardly groaned, why did he always have to live on the edge with his wife? He loved Hilal, but he felt like she kept his life on a thinner tightrope than the drug traffickers and criminals he had to deal with.

Hilal smiled sweetly at her father, "Of course I can dance."

Cevdet took her hand and they moved into position for the next dance as the music started.

Leon stepped away from the other dancing couples to watch them for a bit.

His wife and father-in-law (and target he reminded himself) glided elegantly across the floor, looking completely at ease. But Leon noticed the plastered-on smile and the taut shoulders of his wife, she was anything but pleased or relaxed to be dancing in the arms of a cartel boss, even if that cartel boss was her father. Leon couldn't blame her.

He glanced over to where Ali Kemal was standing. To his surprise, his brother was talking with Vasili. Leon was curious about what they could be possibly be discussing, but he felt uncomfortable leaving Hilal out of his sight. Cevdet wouldn't try anything in plain sight, he reasoned, but he knew Hilal would appreciate him being close enough so she could see him.

More likely she would kick him again, but Leon felt it was his duty to keep a watchful eye on his wife and be a reassuring presence.

Yildiz came up beside him, "I didn't know Hilal was such a good dancer, she looks like a natural."

Leon glanced over at her, "I insisted on learning a few dances for our wedding."

Something flashed in Yildiz's eyes, something that spoke of pain and regret. But as soon as those emotions appeared, they disappeared.

She laughed softly, "I didn't think Hilal would have the patience for dance lessons."

Had he imagined it all? Leon wondered, "No, it took her quite a while to convince her to learn."

"I can imagine," Yildiz agreed before saying, "Can you excuse me, I need some air. It's so stuffy."

Leon offered, "Would you like me to come with you to keep you company?"

Yildiz waved him off before leaving, "No, I'll be back in a bit."

Ali Kemal walked over to Leon, "Are you going to rescue your wife or not?"

"Too suspicious if I do it now," Leon replied as he glanced over at his brother, "What did Vasili want?"

His elder brother frowned, "Just the usual things you would expect from a rich father, offering women and money."

Leon glanced around discreetly before leaning in, "He was trying to bribe you?"

"In his own subtle way," Ali Kemal said quietly.

Ali Kemal glanced around, "Where's Yildiz?"

"She said she had to get some air, why?" Leon questioned.

His brother shrugged, "No reason. I just never knew Yildiz for someone to miss out on a dance."

"Why is this bothering you so much?" Leon questioned curiously.

Ali Kemal narrowed his eyes, "It's not bothering me, I'm just noting that she's behaving oddly."

Leon rolled his eyes, "You're reading into it too much."

His older brother glanced at the dancing couples, "I'm going to rescue your wife, I'm sure Cevdet won't think it wrong for a brother-in-law to want to spend time with his sister-in-law."

"Thank you," Leon said gratefully.

"What would you do without me?" Ali Kemal smiled as he walked away.

"Considering how you always get me in trouble, I would probably live a more stress-free life," Leon muttered.

He watched as Ali Kemal cut in politely as Cevdet stepped away and smiled. Cevdet then walked towards a group of men in the corner of the room as Hilal gratefully smiled at Ali Kemal and proceeded to dance to the next song with him.

"You have such a lovely wife, you should take care of her," Vasili said as he stood beside Leon.

Leon replied, "I intend to."

"She deserves to be dressed in the finest dresses and jewels," Vasili continued, "She practically glows in that dress."

Leon remained silent.

"That pretty neck of hers should be covered in strands of pearls and gold chains," Vasili continued.

Leon clenched his fists but only managed, "Hilal looks lovely in anything, she doesn't need expensive things to make her look prettier or to make her feel better about herself. We have simple tastes."

"Come now, a pretty girl like that wouldn't want to be showered in the finest clothes and jewels by her handsome husband?" Vasili asked incredulously.

"No, Hilal and I are quite happy living within our means," Leon replied.

"Hmm," Vasili remarked, "then perhaps think of the future. I'm sure you both will want the best for your family when you begin expanding, a nice house for the children to run around. Money for a college education."

Leon decided not to respond, allowing Vasili to continue.

"I have all this wealth with nothing to do with it," Vasili said as he swept his hand to gesture to the ballroom, "The least I could do would be to provide for my son's children, to help my family."  
"I appreciate the offer, but Hilal and I would like to provide for ourselves, to live on our own," Leon said politely.

"An admirable quality to be sure, but surely you wouldn't reject a job offer then?" his father questioned.

Leon turned to his father, "I appreciate the offer, but I enjoy my job. I wouldn't be happy with a job in the company, I'm not cut out for that kind of work."

Vasili studied him, his eyes hardening for a moment but his voice belied nothing, "I'm sorry to hear that. But remember, if there is anything I can do for you don't hesitate to ask. I'm your father and nothing would please me more than to take care of you and your family."

"Thank you," Leon managed as Yildiz luckily returned just then.

She turned to Vasili, "Your secretary says there's a call for you in your room, says its important."  
Vasili sighed and glanced around, "I suppose it's time to call it a night, early morning tomorrow."

He turned to Yildiz, "Make sure our guests know how much I appreciated them showing up tonight."

Yildiz nodded just as Cevdet joined them.

Ali Kemal and Hilal broke away from the dancers to approach them.

Vasili turned to his sons as he placed a hand on each of their shoulders, "It was so good to see you both, we really must see each other more often."

Leon managed a smile as his brother nodded, "Of course, dad. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other. In fact, I guarantee it."

Vasili's eyes gleamed, "Indeed."

Cevdet embraced Hilal, "You remind me so much of your mother, do give her my best regards."

Hilal managed not to snarl as she said, "I will."

"Do you need a ride? I can have someone arrange a car," Cevdet offered as he kept his arm wrapped around Hilal.

"Thank you, that won't be necessary," Leon cut in politely as he pulled a grateful Hilal to him. Cevdet seemed momentarily surprised at being cut off but recovered with a smile.

"Well, good night," Vasili said, "And be careful, it's quite dangerous these days."

"Thanks for the warning," Ali Kemal remarked with a smirk.

Vasili smiled before leaving with Cevdet.

Hilal leaned up to whisper to Leon, "I want to go home. These heels are killing me and I really have had enough of all this."

Leon nodded as he pressed a kiss to her hair, "Of course."

 _What we didn't seem to understand was that Vasili had been offering us a choice that night, at the party he offered riches beyond what Ali Kemal and I could ever imagine. Many of the guests at the party had accepted certain monetary enticements. With Vasili, you had two choices, one was money. The other choice he offered, well…_

Yakup drove off with Ali Kemal as Hilal and Leon stood in the parking lot of their apartment building. Hilal reached down and practically shoved her skirts away with one hand to reach down to her heels.

She removed both and sighed in relief, "That feels so much better."  
Leon looked down, "It was so strange not to look down at you, darling. Almost forgot what it felt like to have such a tiny wife."

Hilal shoved him, "Shut up."

Leon raised his hands, "Sorry, no height jokes."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, "Forgive me?"

She leaned her head against him, "All right, as long as you help me burn this dress."

"No arson," he said sternly as she pouted.

He kissed her nose, "But I promise you'll never have to put up with what you did."

She smirked, "Don't make promises you can't keep, love."

They made their way up the stairs as Hilal said, "What's your first assignment?"

He shrugged, "Ali Kemal said to meet him at the embassy for our next move. Can you manage on your own tomorrow?"

"Of course I can," Hilal replied, "I'll probably head over to the hospital after unpacking a bit."

"Make sure you take one of the US assigned bodyguards with you," Leon said, "I don't want you alone in a strange city while I'm chasing cartels."

"You worry too much, I'm sure I'll be fine," Hilal argued.

"Hilal," he warned.

But she had stopped suddenly, her eyes wide, "Did we leave the door open?"

"What?" Leon glanced away from her to notice their apartment door wide open.

He grabbed his gun from behind his jacket, "Get back."

Hilal stepped behind him as they slowly walked in.

Leon looked around as he pointed his gun around. He walked through the apartment with Hilal following close behind.

Hilal gasped before grabbing his arm, "Oh my God, Leon, look!"

Her voice shook as Leon turned around slowly. His eyes widened as Hilal brought her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide with fear.

"Oh my God," Leon managed.

There on the wall was written in what appeared to be blood was 'asimi i thanatos'.

 _Money or Death_

Yildiz waved the last guests goodbye before tiredly making her way up to the penthouse suite rented for Vasili and his associates. She nodded politely to the manager at the desk before taking the elevator that opened into the penthouse.

She stepped out and bent down to remove her heels as she rubbed her neck.

"I need a nice bath," she murmured to herself.

Yildiz walked down the hallway towards her room, looking for her personal maid. She finally caught sight of her. Her maid was pushing away one of her father's men, Chronos and seemed to be trying her best to step away from him. He pulled her back to him and whispered something in her ear that had her struggling and her eyes filled with fear.

"Cassandra, can you help me with this dress?" Yildiz interrupted.

Cassandra seemed relieved as she jumped back and bowed her head, "Of course, ma'am."

"Good," Yildiz replied before turning to Chronos, "I'm sure I heard my father call for you, you don't want to keep him waiting."

He scowled before leaving.

Yildiz turned to Cassandra and gestured her to follow her to her room.

Once they were both inside the room, Yildiz closed the door to face her maid.

The poor thing had her arms wrapped around herself and was staring at the floor. She was trembling.

"Cassandra, is Chronos giving you trouble?" Yildiz questioned crossing her arms.

She shook her head, "No, ma'am."

Yildiz narrowed her eyes, "What did he tell you?"

Her maid shook her head as she continued to tremble.

Yildiz sighed and softened her voice, "Cassandra, tell me what he did or said to you. I'll make him pay for it. You won't get into trouble nor will you be bothering me by telling me the truth. You work under my watch and I'm responsible for you, I want to help you."

Cassandra finally lifted her head and Yildiz sucked in a breath at the tears welling up in her eyes.

"He said if I didn't…" she choked out, "That if I resisted him, that he would kill my husband."

Yildiz's eyes hardened and her face grew taut.

She turned around and opened the door, turning her head to Cassandra.

"If anyone ever threatens you or any of the rest of the household, you let me know. I don't care who it is, you work for me and you're under my protection. If anyone dares to violate that, they'll face me. Do I make myself clear?" she ordered in a steely voice.

"Yes, ma'am," Cassandra replied as she nodded rapidly, "Of course."

Yildiz's face softened a fraction, "No will feel unsafe under my watch."

Cassandra wiped her eyes and gave her a grateful look, "Thank you, Miss Yildiz. We're lucky to have you."

"It's common decency, Cassandra," Yildiz replied, "You shouldn't have to thank me."

She left the room without another word.

She made her way to the living room where Vasili and her father and a few of their associates were sharing a drink. Yildiz stopped in front of Vasili and her father and waited as the discussion died down and everyone's eyes were on her. From the corner of her eye she spotted Chronos leaning against the wall.

Vasili placed his drink on the table as Yildiz faced her father.

"Father, you placed me in charge of the household. You told me that I would be responsible for hiring and overseeing the household. Do I have this correctly? And remember what my one rule was? I insisted that no one was to harass the maids or the servants. I made it clear that they were under my protection. Am I correct in assuming all of this to be true?" Yildiz questioned her tone measured but firm.

Cevdet nodded.

Yildiz turned towards Chronos, "He threatened my maid, he threatened her husband unless she accepted his disgusting advances. I won't have it. I will not tolerate him harassing my household. He's been breaking my one simple rule, and therefore, he's been undermining my authority and yours by extension."

She said this last part by looking from her father to Vasili.  
Vasili looked intrigued as he leaned forward, "Oh? and how is that?"

Yildiz raised two fingers as she replied, "Two simple reasons, one is that we need the loyalty of the poor and how can we do that if we scare them or bully them? We need them to trust us more than they trust the government. We need them on our side so we have a protective shield surrounding us. We need them to think that we have their best interests at heart, that we're not like the corrupted government and oligarchs."

Seeing Vasili remaining silent but attentive, Yildiz continued, "And second and most important of all, if your man disobeys a simple order from me, an order that you gave me the authority to give, he isn't simply undermining my authority but yours, and if he can't follow a simple order because of his greedy nature, how can you trust him to follow you loyally no matter what you ask of him? It's a question of order and trust."

She stood silently watching Vasili ponder her words.

Finally, Vasili gave her an impressed look, "You're right."

He stood up and turned towards the man, "Well, what have you to say?"

Chronos straightened and replied quickly, "I am your loyal servant, boss. I will never question you. I will always obey you."

Vasili studied him as he said, "But you see your error? In disobeying Miss Yildiz, you insulted her authority and insulted Cevdet's authority because her authority came from him. As you know, an insult to Cevdet is tantamount to an insult to me. I will not tolerate disrespect, do you understand?"

Chronos offered quickly "Of course, I never meant..."

Vasili cut him off, "Now you've learned your lesson, no?"

The man nodded earnestly as Vasili said, "Good, I hope the others will learn from your mistakes."

Chronos bowed his head, "Of course, boss. I am truly sorry."

Vasili smiled, "Good."

He pulled out his gun and shot the man in the head.

Blood splattered all over, hitting Yildiz's dress and face but she didn't even flinch.

The room was silent as Vasili put the gun away and sat down. He grabbed his drink and nodded at Yildiz before turning back to Cevdet.

Yildiz took that as her cue to leave, she walked stonily past the other people in the room who gave her appraising looks. She ignored their curious, almost impressed stares as she slowly made her way back to her room.

She walked into the room and had just turned towards her dressing table when she heard a gasp.

Yildiz glanced over to see her maid looking at her in shock.

She looked down at the dress and sighed, "Yes, I suppose the dress is ruined now."

Cassandra didn't reply, having frozen on the spot.

Yildiz ignored her stare as she sat down in front of her mirror, "Do draw me a bath? And see if you can do anything for the stains?"

Her maid nodded and left quickly.

Yildiz glanced at herself in the mirror, the blood on her faces like dark red stripes or cuts. Her hair was a bit wild and the blood was drying on her neck and all over the front of her dress.

She stared at herself in the mirror for a moment before reaching up to remove her earrings.

Her hands slightly trembled.

 _Welcome to the CevVas cartel._

Hope you guys enjoyed the final part of chapter 2!


End file.
